basidiospore

[ buh-sid-ee-oh-spawr, -spohr ]

nounMycology.
  1. a spore that is borne by a basidium.

Origin of basidiospore

1
First recorded in 1855–60; basidi(um) + -o- + -spore

Other words from basidiospore

  • ba·sid·i·os·por·ous [buh-sid-ee-os-per-uhs, -ee-uh-spawr-uhs, -spohr-], /bəˌsɪd iˈɒs pər əs, -i əˈspɔr əs, -ˈspoʊr-/, adjective

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

How to use basidiospore in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for basidiospore

basidiospore

/ (bæˈsɪdɪəʊˌspɔː) /


noun
  1. one of the spores, usually four in number, produced in a basidium

Derived forms of basidiospore

  • basidiosporous, adjective

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 basidiospore

basidiospore

[ bə-sĭdē-ə-spôr′ ]


  1. A sexually produced fungal spore borne on a basidium in the fungi known as basidiomycetes. Basidiospores are produced by the union of the nuclei at the tip of a binucleated segment of a hypha. The resulting zygote then divides by meiosis into four haploid nuclei, each of which migrates to the very tip to be released as a basidiospore. A typical mushroom produces billions of basidiospores.

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