Spore
//spɔː(ɹ)// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A reproductive particle, usually a single cell, released by a fungus, alga, or plant that may germinate into another.
"Thresher maws are subterranean carnivores that spend their entire lives eating or searching for something to eat. Threshers reproduce via spores that lie dormant for millennia, yet are robust enough to survive prolonged periods in deep space and atmospheric re-entry. As a result, thresher spores appear on many worlds, spread by previous generations of space travelers."
- 2 a small usually single-celled asexual reproductive body produced by many nonflowering plants and fungi and some bacteria and protozoans and that are capable of developing into a new individual without sexual fusion wordnet
- 3 A thick resistant particle produced by a bacterium or protist to survive in harsh or unfavorable conditions.
Verb
- 1 To produce spores.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"The biologist looked at a spore under the microscope."
Etymology
From New Latin spora, from Ancient Greek σπορά (sporá, “seed”), related to σπόρος (spóros, “sowing”) and σπείρω (speírō, “to sow”). Related to English spread).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.