Meanings
plural centromeres
- biologyThe central region of a eukaryotic chromosome where the kinetochore is assembled.
Every chromosome has a long arm and a short arm separated by a pinch point known as a centromere.
1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 161 more example
The aberrant bivalents with single terminal chiasmata are specially liable to this failure of orientation, presumably because their centromeres lie exceptionally far apart, as is the case in similar circumstances in a Lilium hybrid with reduced chiasma-frequency.
1936, C. D. Darlington, “The Analysis of Chromosome Movements, I. Podophyllum versipelle”, in Cytologia, volume 7, numbers 1-2, page 242
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna specialized condensed region of each chromosome that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμέρος“part”
- GermanCentromer
- Englishcentromere
Borrowed from German Centromer, corresponding to centro- + -mere (from Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “part”)).
More words from German, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan centròmer
- centròmerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Chinese Mandarin 著絲粒 /著丝粒, 着丝粒
- 著絲粒 /著丝粒region of a eukaryotic chromosome
- 着丝粒 (zhuósīlì)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
- 中節 /中节 (zhōngjié)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
Czech centromera
- centromeraregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Estonian tsentromeer
- tsentromeerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Finnish sentromeeri
- sentromeeriregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
French centromère
- centromèreregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
German Zentromer
- Zentromerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Greek κεντρομερές
- κεντρομερές (kentromerés)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
Irish ceintrimír
- ceintrimírregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Italian centromero
- centromeroregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Japanese セントロメア, 動原体
- セントロメア (sentoromea)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
- 動原体 (dōgentai)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
Korean 중심립
- 중심립 (jungsimnip)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
Latvian centromēra
- centromēraregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Portuguese centrómero, centrômero
- centrómeroregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
- centrômeroregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Russian центроме́ра
- центроме́ра (centroméra)region of a eukaryotic chromosome
Spanish centrómero
- centrómeroregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Swedish centromer
- centromerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Turkish sentromer
- sentromerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Vietnamese đoạn trung tâm
- đoạn trung tâmregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Welsh centromer, sentromer
- centromerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
- sentromerregion of a eukaryotic chromosome
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
centromere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centromere
“centromere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centromere. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “centromere,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centromere.
Source: centromere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.