alternate generation
alternate generation noun: each of the two forms of an organism whose life cycle involves alternation of generations, or the fact of such alternation occurring in a given organism.
Noun
alternate generation (plural alternate generations)
- Each of the two forms of an organism whose life cycle involves alternation of generations, or the fact of such alternation occurring in a given organism.
- If, instead of a single individual, several were to be thus developed metagenetically within a pre-existing form, the process would be called one of alternate generation.1868, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication
- On the female side, the alternate generation is a small collection of cells, called an embryo sac, that is hidden away deep inside the reproductive parts of the maple tree.2011, David Krough, Biology: A Guide to the Natural World, 5th edition, page 472
Forms of alternate generation
| plural | alternate generations |
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Questions about alternate generation
- What does alternate generation mean?
- Alternate generation means each of the two forms of an organism whose life cycle involves alternation of generations, or the fact of such alternation occurring in a given organism.
- What part of speech is alternate generation?
- Alternate generation is a noun.
- What is the plural of alternate generation?
- The plural of alternate generation is alternate generations.
Words near alternate generation in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: alternate generation (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.
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