chromosome
noun
Simple meaning
A linear arrangement of condensed DNA and associated proteins which contains the genetic material of an organism.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
krohmuhsohmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹoʊməsoʊm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
cytologygenetics
A linear arrangement of condensed DNA and associated proteins (such as chaperone proteins) which contains the genetic material (genome) of an organism.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (cytology, genetics) A linear arrangement of condensed DNA and associated proteins (such as chaperone proteins) which contains the genetic material (genome) of an organism.
Used this way, chromosome is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use chromosome
- “Humans have 22 chromosome pairs plus two sex chromosomes.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The process of locating genes on a chromosome.
A chromosome with the centromere near one end so that one chromosomal arm is short and one is long.
A chromosome having two equal arms because the centromere is in median position.
A chromosome that determines the sex of an individual.
Any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome.
A chromosome like a straight rod with the centromere in terminal position.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Any change in the normal structure or number of chromosomes.
Any change in the normal structure or number of chromosomes.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.