backcross

[ bak-kraws, -kros ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to cross (a hybrid of the first generation) with either of its parents.

noun
  1. an instance of such crossing.

Origin of backcross

1
First recorded in 1900–05; back2 + cross

Words Nearby backcross

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for backcross

backcross

/ (ˈbækˌkrɒs) /


verb
  1. to mate (a hybrid of the first generation) with one of its parents

noun
  1. the offspring so produced

  2. the act or process of backcrossing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for backcross

backcross

[ băkkrôs′, -krŏs′ ]


Verb
  1. To cross a hybrid with one of its parents or with an individual genetically identical to one of its parents. Backcrossing is used in research to isolate genetic characteristics found in one of the parents.

Noun
  1. The act of making such a cross.

  2. An individual resulting from such a cross.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.