heterozygous

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəs/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(het′ər ə zī′gəs)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
het•er•o•zy•gous  (het′ər ə zī′gəs),USA pronunciation adj. [Biol.]
  1. having dissimilar pairs of genes for any hereditary characteristic.
  2. of or pertaining to a heterozygote.
Also, het•er•o•zy•got•ic  (het′ə rō zī got′ik).USA pronunciation 
  • see -ous 1900–05; hetero- + Greek zygós, adjective, adjectival derivative of zygón yolk
het•er•o•zy•gos•i•ty  (het′ə rō zī gos′i tē),USA pronunciation n. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
heterozygous / ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəs/
  1. (of an organism) having different alleles for any one gene: heterozygous for eye colour
    Compare homozygous
'heterozygous' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
codominant - heterozygote - homozygous - zygosity

Forum discussions with the word(s) "heterozygous" in the title:


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