allele

noun

al·lele | \ ə-ˈlēl

Definition of allele

1 : any of the alternative forms of a gene that may occur at a given locus (see locus sense 3)

2 : either of a pair of alternative Mendelian characters (see character entry 1 sense 1b(3)) (such as smooth and wrinkled seed in the pea)

Other Words from allele Example Sentences Learn More about allele

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Other Words from allele

allelic \ -ˈlē-lik

, -ˈle- \ adjective

allelism \ -ˈlē-ˌli-zəm

, -ˈle- \ noun

Examples of allele in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, the equations don’t account for mutations, which would introduce new alleles, or strategies, into the game. — Quanta Magazine, "The Game Theory of Life," 18 June 2014 Those encounters left traces of human alleles in Neanderthal genomes, in the same way that Neanderthals, in turn, left traces in our modern genomes. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Humans may have reached Europe by 210,000 years ago," 10 July 2019 This older female, in turn, received one of the alleles from her mother and the other from her father. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "The National Zoo’s Female Asian Water Dragon Successfully Reproduced Without a Male," 6 June 2019 In six, the mother lizard had two different alleles, or variants of the same gene, that came from a mother and a father. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Without the help of any male, this female lizard became pregnant alone and gave birth," 7 June 2019 These recombinations shuffle genetic variation throughout the genome, splitting up alleles that might have previously been together. — Quanta Magazine, "Theorists Debate How ‘Neutral’ Evolution Really Is," 8 Nov. 2018 If egg and sperm fusion had occurred, the offspring would have two alleles. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Without the help of any male, this female lizard became pregnant alone and gave birth," 7 June 2019 Six of these pairs contained two alleles, or gene variants, carried by the water dragon. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "The National Zoo’s Female Asian Water Dragon Successfully Reproduced Without a Male," 6 June 2019 The same person’s genome may include some gene variants, or alleles, associated with increasing height and others associated with decreasing it. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "The modern pygmies of Flores are not related to Homo floresiensis," 2 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'allele.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for allele

allele

noun

al·lele | \ ə-ˈlē(ə)l

Medical Definition of allele

1 : any of the alternative forms of a gene that may occur at a given locus

2 : either of a pair of alternative Mendelian characters (as ability versus inability to taste the chemical phenylthiocarbamide)

Other Words from allele

allelic \ -ˈlē-lik

, -ˈlel-ik

\ adjective

allelism \ -ˈlē(ə)l-ˌiz-əm

, -ˈlel-ˌiz-

\ noun

allele

Definition of allele

Other Words from allele

Examples of allele in a Sentence

First Known Use of allele

History and Etymology for allele

Medical Definition of allele

allele

Definition of allele

Other Words from allele

Examples of allele in a Sentence

First Known Use of allele

History and Etymology for allele

Medical Definition of allele

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