spermatozoon

[ spur-mat-uh-zoh-uhn, -on, spur-muh-tuh- ]

noun

, Cell Biology.

, plural sper·mat·o·zo·a [spur-mat-, uh, -, zoh, -, uh, spur-m, uh, -t, uh, -].

1. one of the minute, usually actively motile gametes in semen, which serve to fertilize the ovum; a mature male reproductive cell.

spermatozoon

/ ˌspɜːmətəʊˈzəʊɒn /

noun

1. any of the male reproductive cells released in the semen during ejaculation, consisting of a flattened egg-shaped head, a long neck, and a whiplike tail by which it moves to fertilize the female ovum Also calledspermzoosperm

spermatozoon

/ spər-măt′ə-zō′ŏn′ /

, Plural spermatozoa

1. A sperm cell produced in the testis of an animal.

Derived Forms

• ˌspermatoˈzoal, adjective

Other Words From

• spermat·o·zoal spermat·o·zoan spermat·o·zoic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spermatozoon¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1830–40; spermato-, -zoon

Example Sentences

Mature spermatozoa are characterized by an head, midpiece and a long tail for locomotion.

From Science Daily

Converting these cells into viable spermatozoa could help to save the critically endangered animal from extinction.

From Scientific American

The Oklahoma measure defines fertilisation as the "fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum".

From BBC

Some are revealed to have long, squiggly tails — spermatozoa, perhaps, which resonate against the labial form that Rist designed for the lights.

From Los Angeles Times

In Mr. Wiley’s “Napoleon,” from 2005, the Alpine setting has given way to an abstract ground of red and gold brocade, speckled, strange to say, by swimming spermatozoa.

From New York Times