spore

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spore / spôr/ • n. Biol. a minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion, characteristic of lower plants, fungi, and protozoans. ∎  Bot. (in a plant exhibiting alternation of generations) a haploid reproductive cell that gives rise to a gametophyte. ∎  Microbiology (in bacteria) a rounded resistant form adopted by a bacterial cell in adverse conditions.

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