allele
/ˈæl.iːl//əˈliːl/
allele noun: one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.
Noun
allele (plural alleles)
- One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.
- Genes are competing directly with their alleles for survival, since their alleles in the gene pool are rivals for their slot on the chromosomes of future generations. Any gene that behaves in such a way as to increase its own survival chances in the gene pool at the expense of its alleles will, by...1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 46
- Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3
- Synonyms:
- allelomorph
allele meaning in Tamil, Kannada, Tagalog and Arabic
allele in Tamil
- மாற்றுரு, அல்லீல், மரபன் மறுமம்
allele in Kannada
- ಜೋಡಿಯೊಂಟಿ
allele in Tagalog
- variant of a gene
- ibayo, kaibayong-anyo, kaibayunyo
allele in Arabic
- variant of a gene
- بَدِيل وِرَاثِيّ badīl wirāṯiyy
More languagesFewer languages
- allele in Indonesian
- alel
Examples of allele in a sentence
- Among immunocompetent organisms, some have higher immunocapability than others, depending on factors such as alleles, diet, and age.
- In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
- In addition, 35% to 56% of patients who have narcolepsy without cataplexy also have this allele.
Synonyms of allele
Forms of allele
| plural | alleles |
|---|
Origin of allele
Borrowed from German Allel, shortened from Allelomorph, from English allelomorph. Ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀλλήλων (allḗlōn, “each other”) from ἄλλος (állos, “other”).
Words formed from allele
Words that rhyme with allele
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- keel
- anneal
- creel
- peal
- peel
- sweal
- congeal
- Izmail
- kneel
- meal
- Neale
- streal
- weal
- awheel
- Castile
- cochineal
- feal
- heal
- Lille
- ordeal
- repeal
- sele
- squeal
- teal
- zeal
- ceil
- debile
- dishabille
- hele
- leal
- lifesteal
- Neil
- Niel
- O'Neill
- reveal
- schlemiel
- seel
- she'll
- shiel
- skeel
- spiel
- square meal
- unseal
- veal
- we'll
- weel
- ye'll
- -meal
Questions about allele
- What does allele mean?
- Allele means one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.
- What is allele in Tamil?
- Allele in Tamil is மாற்றுரு, அல்லீல், மரபன் மறுமம். See Allele meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is allele?
- Allele is a noun.
- How do you pronounce allele?
- Allele is pronounced /ˈæl.iːl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of allele?
- The plural of allele is alleles.
Words near allele in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: allele (page history and authors); allele (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); allele (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-allele.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-allele.wav.
Cite this entry: “allele.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/allele. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.