spore
pronunciation
How to pronounce spore in British English:
UK [spɔ:(r)]
How to pronounce spore in American English:
US [spɔr, spor]
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- Noun:
- a small usually single-celled reproductive body produced by many plants and some protozoans and that develops into a new individual
Word Origin
- spore (n.)
- "reproductive body in flowerless plants corresponding to the seeds of flowering ones," 1836, from Modern Latin spora, from Greek spora "a seed, a sowing, seed-time," related to sporas "scattered, dispersed," sporos "a sowing," and speirein "to sow, scatter," from PIE *spor-, variant of root *sper- (4) "to strew" (see sprout (v.)).
Example
- 1. Some pathogens , though , can survive in spore form .
- 2. A single spore can quickly spread and form a mould .
- 3. Differences in vegetative cell heat resistance is in some instances associated with high spore resistance .
- 4. Spencer had the nous and the knowledge to turn his observation into innovation ; only an expert on bacteria would have been ready to see the significance of fleming 's stray spore .
- 5. Asked whether spore trajectories could be scaled up to thrown baseballs or other reader-friendly terms , money replied that mushroom spores don 't go far at all .