spore

[spawr, spohr] /spɔr, spoʊr/
noun
1.
Biology. a walled, single- to many-celled, reproductive body of an organism, capable of giving rise to a new individual either directly or indirectly.
2.
a germ, germ cell, seed, or the like.
verb (used without object), spored, sporing.
3.
to bear or produce spores.
Origin
1830-40; < Neo-Latin spora < Greek sporá sowing, seed, akin to speírein to sow; see sperm1
Related forms
sporal, adjective
sporoid, adjective
intersporal, adjective
Examples from the web for spores
  • We ascertained that the spores of the fungus were dead at the moment when the flask was opened.
  • Prevent this fungus by hosing off foliage in the morning several times a week to wash off spores.
  • Truffles are mushrooms that develop underground and depend on animals eating them to disperse their spores.
  • These spores are, in effect, reservoirs for infection.
  • In the houses which were left habitable, mould and spores grew during the many humid weeks when the city lacked electricity.
  • Such drugs could latch on to anthrax spores in the lungs and destroy the pathogen before it releases its toxin.
  • Fungus spores explode in sync to attain higher heights.
  • One such behavior is the formation of spores that make bacteria more resistant to antibiotics.
  • Resembling a buck's antlers, the stroma releases spores to be picked up by another wandering ant.
  • The hyphae also give rise to new fruiting bodies, the fleshy, capped structures that produce spores and are harvested as crops.
British Dictionary definitions for spores

spore

/spɔː/
noun
1.
a reproductive body, produced by bacteria, fungi, various plants, and some protozoans, that develops into a new individual. A sexual spore is formed after the fusion of gametes and an asexual spore is the result of asexual reproduction
2.
a germ cell, seed, dormant bacterium, or similar body
verb
3.
(intransitive) to produce, carry, or release spores
Word Origin
C19: from New Latin spora, from Greek: a sowing; related to Greek speirein to sow
Word Origin and History for spores

spore

n.

1836, from Modern Latin spora, from Greek spora "seed, a sowing," related to sporos "sowing," and speirein "to sow," from PIE *sper- "to strew" (see sprout (v.)).

spores in Medicine

spore (spôr)
n.

  1. A small, usually single-celled asexual or sexual reproductive body that is highly resistant to desiccation and heat and is capable of growing into a new organism, produced especially by certain bacteria, fungi, algae, and nonflowering plants.

  2. A dormant, nonreproductive body formed by certain bacteria in response to adverse environmental conditions.

spo·ra'ceous (spə-rā'shəs, spô-) adj.
spores in Science
spore
  (spôr)   

  1. A usually one-celled reproductive body that can grow into a new organism without uniting with another cell. Spores are haploid (having only a single set of chromosomes). Fungi, algae, seedless plants, and certain protozoans reproduce asexually by spores. Plant spores that are dispersed by the wind have walls containing sporopollenin.

  2. See more at alternation of generations.

  3. A similar one-celled body in seed-bearing plants; the macrospore or microspore. The macrospore of seed-bearing plants develops into a female gametophyte or megagametophyte, which is contained within the ovule and eventually produces the egg cells. (The megagametophyte is also called the embryo sac in angiosperms.) The microspore of seed-bearing plants develops into the male microgametophyte or pollen grain. See endospore.


spores in Culture

spore definition


A reproductive cell or group of cells, produced by some plants, that is capable of developing into an adult plant without combining with another reproductive cell. Plants also produce sperm cells. The spores of nonflowering plants are analogous to the seeds of flowering plants. (See asexual reproduction; compare sexual reproduction.) Fungi and algae typically reproduce by means of spores that are carried by the wind or some other agency to a new location for growth.