holoblastic

American

[hol-uh-blas-tik, hoh-luh-] / ˌhɒl əˈblæs tɪk, ˌhoʊ lə- /

adjective

Embryology.

(of certain eggs) undergoing total cleavage, resulting in equal blastomeres.

holoblastic British

/ ˌhɒləˈblæstɪk /

adjective

embryol of or showing cleavage of the entire zygote into blastomeres, as in eggs with little yolk Compare meroblastic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

holoblastically adverb

Etymology

Origin of holoblastic

1870–75; holoblast ( holo- + -blast ) + -ic

Compare meaning

How does holoblastic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

holoblastic vs. meroblastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Although the mass of the food-yelk may be very large in the ova of the discoblastic vertebrates, nevertheless in every case a blastula is developed from the morula, as in the holoblastic ova.

From The Evolution of Man — Volume 1 by Haeckel, Ernst Heinrich Philipp August

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023