Heterosis
noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The tendency of cross-breeding to produce an animal or plant with a greater hardiness than its parents; hybrid vigour. countable, uncountable
"Hybridisation can also result in heterosis - the scientific term for the production of ʽsuper fit’ hybrid individuals - many examples of which come from agriculture. Heterosis can be thought of as the opposite of inbreeding depression, the phenomenon whereby the offspring of individuals that are genetically too similar - for example, brother and sister - can suffer from debilitating maladies."
- 2 (genetics) the tendency of a crossbred organism to have qualities superior to those of either parent wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Hybridisation can also result in heterosis - the scientific term for the production of ʽsuper fit’ hybrid individuals - many examples of which come from agriculture. Heterosis can be thought of as the opposite of inbreeding depression, the phenomenon whereby the offspring of individuals that are genetically too similar - for example, brother and sister - can suffer from debilitating maladies."
Etymology
From hetero- + -osis.
Related phrases
More for "heterosis"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.