: the usually constant number of chromosomes characteristic of a particular kind of animal or plant
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebBy 2011, Boeke and his colleagues could report success in building one arm of a chromosome, chromosome number nine. David Biello, Scientific American, 27 Mar. 2014 Unlike other botanical atlases that focused on botanical classification, this atlas recorded the chromosome number of about 100,000 plants, providing knowledge about breeding and evolutionary patterns of botanical groups. Leila Mcneill, Smithsonian, 1 Aug. 2019 One result that’s emerged is a relationship between these timing parameters and chromosome number — too fast or too slow correlates perceptibly with embryos having the wrong number of chromosomes.Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2018
Word History
First Known Use
1910, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
chromosome number
noun
: the usually constant number of chromosomes characteristic of a particular kind of animal or plant