Dimorphism

noun

noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The occurrence within a plant of two distinct forms of any part. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    (biology) the existence of two forms of individual within the same animal species (independent of sex differences) wordnet
  3. 3
    The occurrence in an animal species of two distinct types of individual. countable, uncountable

    "This is also done for Dizygopleura landesi Roth and Eukloedenella pontotocensis Lundin, new species, which illustrate domiciliar (kloedenellid) dimorphism."

  4. 4
    (chemistry) the property of certain substances that enables them to exist in two distinct crystalline forms wordnet
  5. 5
    A property of certain substances that enables them to exist in two distinct crystalline forms. countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

"Northern elephant seals are large and imposing, with significant differences in size and shape between sexes (sexual dimorphism)."

Etymology

From di- + -morphism.

Related phrases

sexual dimorphism

More for "dimorphism"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.