assortative mating

noun

, Animal Behavior, Psychology.

1. the reproductive pairing of individuals that have more traits in common than would likely be the case if mating were random ( disassortative mating ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of assortative mating¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Eastern screech-owls also have assortative mating, but how they identify one another’s ages is still a mystery, at least for us humans.

From Popular-Science

In this case, the mathematician can give us a coefficient of resemblance, or of assortative mating, which we write as zero.

From Project Gutenberg

But in any case the existence of assortative mating for such traits is significant.

From Project Gutenberg

Such assortative mating means that the offspring will usually be well endowed with a talent.

From Project Gutenberg

What it does mean is that like tends to mate with like—called assortative mating.

From Project Gutenberg

There is thus assortative mating for height, but it is far from perfect.

From Project Gutenberg