Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Genetics The process of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes from diploid to haploid, as in the production of gametes.
  • noun Rhetorical understatement.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Rhet.) Diminution; a species of hyperbole, representing a thing as being less than it really is; understatement; see also litotes.
  • noun (Cell Biology) The cellular process by which a diploid progenitor cell forms haploid gametes, including a division of one diploid cell into two cells, each with one of the homologous sets of chromosomes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable, rhetoric A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is.
  • noun uncountable, cytology Cell division of a diploid cell into four haploid cells, which develop to produce gametes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)
  • noun (genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms; the nucleus divides into four nuclei each containing half the chromosome number (leading to gametes in animals and spores in plants)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek meiōsis, diminution, from meioun, to diminish, from meiōn, less; see mei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Modern Latin, from Ancient Greek μείωσις (meiōsis, "a lessening"), from μειόω (meioō, "I lessen"), from μείων (meiōn, "less").

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Examples

  • My own mnemonic system depends on the fact that the word meiosis has been “reduced,” from mitosis, to the extent of not containing the letter t.

    The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

  • My own mnemonic system depends on the fact that the word meiosis has been “reduced,” from mitosis, to the extent of not containing the letter t.

    The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

  • Incorrect chromosome division during meiosis is the commonest cause of spontaneous miscarriage during pregnancy, and an extra chromosome 21 in humans leads to Down's syndrome.

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 - Information for the Public 2004

  • The process by which the DNA load is halved is termed meiosis.

    THE HIDDEN FACE OF GOD GERALD L. SCHROEDER 2001

  • The process by which the DNA load is halved is termed meiosis.

    THE HIDDEN FACE OF GOD GERALD L. SCHROEDER 2001

  • The process of gamete formation involves a specialized form of cell division called meiosis, which is tightly regulated by molecular processes within the cell.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

  • It’s possible the last time I heard the word meiosis was in my Anatomy and Physiology class in college.

    JAD Office Pool Winners « UDreamOfJanie 2006

  • The transmission of genes from parent to offspring is carried out in a special process of cellular division called meiosis, which produces gamete cells containing one chromosome from each paired set.

    Molecular Genetics Waters, Ken 2007

  • This is because when they form they discard half of their chromosomes in a process called meiosis.

    CBC | Top Stories News 2011

  • In cells undergoing the sexual cell division process called meiosis, there are lots of double-Holliday junctions and lots of crossovers.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories PhysOrg Team 2010

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  • The moment of conception of a kitten.

    September 28, 2008