Meaning & use

allele

noun·Advanced

One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that occupy the same position on a chromosome.

See it in a sentence

A child may inherit one allele for eye color from each parent.

The recessive allele only appears in the offspring if both parents carry it.

A note on using this word

Allele is a core term in genetics; an organism's combination of alleles for a gene determines its genotype.

Words with a similar meaning

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