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It is a well-documented fact that guys will not ask for directions. This is a biological thing. This is why it takes several million sperm cells... to locate a female egg, despite the fact that the egg is, relative to them, the size of Wisconsin.
Dave Barry

Meaning of "sperm" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SPERM

From Late Latin sperma, from Greek; related to Greek speirein to sow.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF SPERM

sperm  [spɜːm] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SPERM

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Sperm is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES SPERM MEAN IN ENGLISH?

sperm

Sperm

The term sperm refers to the male reproductive cells and is derived from the Greek word sperma. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell. A uniflagellar sperm cell that is motile is referred to as a spermatozoon, whereas a non-motile sperm cell is referred to as a spermatium. Sperm cells cannot divide and have a limited life span, but after fusion with egg cells during fertilization, a new organism begins developing, starting as a totipotent zygote. The human sperm cell is haploid, so that its 23 chromosomes can join the 23 chromosomes of the female egg to form a diploid cell. In mammals, sperm develops in the testicles and is released from the penis. It is also possible to extract sperm through TESE. Some sperm banks hold up to 170 litres of sperm. Video of human sperm cells recorded by an affordable home microscope.

Definition of sperm in the English dictionary

The definition of sperm in the dictionary is a male reproductive cell; male gamete.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH SPERM


angiosperm
ˈændʒɪəˌspɜːm
deperm
diːˈpɜːm
endosperm
ˈɛndəʊˌspɜːm
episperm
ˌɛpɪˈspɜːm
gymnosperm
ˈdʒɪmnəʊˌspɜːm
LaPerm
ləˈpɜːm
oosperm
ˈəʊəˌspɜːm
perisperm
ˈpɛrɪˌspɜːm
perm
pɜːm
pteridosperm
ˈtɛrɪdəˌspɜːm
zoosperm
ˈzəʊəˌspɜːm

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE SPERM

sperm bank
sperm count
sperm donor
sperm oil
sperm whale
spermaceti
spermaduct
spermagonia
spermagonium
spermaphyte
spermaphytic
spermaries
spermarium
spermary
spermatheca
spermathecal
spermatia
spermatial
spermatic

WORDS THAT END LIKE SPERM

berm
donor sperm
ectoderm
endoderm
full term
full-term
germ
half term
herm
isotherm
jail term
long term
long-term
medium-term
midterm
preterm
short-term
term
therm
wheat germ

Synonyms and antonyms of sperm in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «SPERM»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «sperm» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of sperm

Translation of «sperm» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF SPERM

Find out the translation of sperm to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of sperm from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «sperm» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

精子
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

esperma
570 millions of speakers

English

sperm
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

शुक्राणु
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

مَنِيّ
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

сперма
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

esperma
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

শুক্রাণু
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

sperme
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Sperma
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Sperma
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

精子
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

정자
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Sperma
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tinh trùng
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

விந்து
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

शुक्राणु
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

sperm
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

sperma
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

sperma
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

сперма
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

spermă
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

σπέρμα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

sperm
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

sperma
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

sperm
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of sperm

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SPERM»

The term «sperm» is very widely used and occupies the 11.580 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
95
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «sperm» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of sperm
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «sperm».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SPERM» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «sperm» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «sperm» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about sperm

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «SPERM»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word sperm.
1
Dave Barry
It is a well-documented fact that guys will not ask for directions. This is a biological thing. This is why it takes several million sperm cells... to locate a female egg, despite the fact that the egg is, relative to them, the size of Wisconsin.
2
Bjork
Football is a fertility festival. Eleven sperm trying to get into the egg. I feel sorry for the goalkeeper.
3
John Tyler Bonner
In the seventeenth century, it was held by some that inside a human sperm there was a minute human being - a homunculus - that was planted inside the womb. Development consisted of the miniature homunculus enlarging and passing through birth and on to maturity-just like inflating a balloon.
4
Stefano Gabbana
My dream is to have a baby, not to adopt one, because I am not up to it and I don't feel strong enough. I want my own child, a biological child, the fruit of my sperm, conceived through artificial insemination because it wouldn't make sense for me to make love to a woman I don't love.
5
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Just because you donate sperm does not make you a father. I don't have a father. I would never give him the credit or acknowledge him as my father.
6
Kenneth R. Miller
Although each egg cell produced by a woman carries a single X chromosome, the sperm cells produced by a man carry either an X or a Y. This means, in very simple terms, that the sperm cell determines a baby's sex.
7
Thomas Hunt Morgan
For each chromosome contributed by the sperm there is a corresponding chromosome contributed by the egg, there are two chromosomes of each kind, which together constitute a pair.
8
Thomas Hunt Morgan
The egg of every species of animal or plant carries a definite number of bodies called chromosomes. The sperm carries the same number. Consequently, when the sperm unites with the egg, the fertilized egg will contain the double number of chromosomes.
9
Nathan Myhrvold
The cloning procedure is similar to IVF. The only difference is that the DNA of sperm and egg would be replaced by DNA from an adult cell. What law or principle - secular, humanist, or religious - says that one combination of genetic material in a flask is OK, but another is not?
10
Michelle Rodriguez
People forget we come from an embryo and we're part sperm and part ovary. We have both sides in us.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SPERM»

Discover the use of sperm in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to sperm and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective
This book represents the first analysis of the evolutionary significance of sperm phenotypes and derived sperm traits and the possible selection pressures responsible for sperm-egg coevolution.
Tim R. Birkhead, Dave J. Hosken, Scott S. Pitnick, 2008
2
Sperm Wars: Infidelity, Sexual Conflict, and Other Bedroom ...
inherit their large testes, their promiscuity and their ability to win sperm warfare. But this success eventually becomes self-defeating. At each generation there are more and more men with large testes – descendants of the original invader ...
Robin Baker, 2013
3
Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean
Males can reach a length of sixty-two feet and can weigh upwards of fifty tons. With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before.
Hal Whitehead, 2003
4
Sperm Competition and Its Evolutionary Consequences in the ...
This book analyzes and extends thirty years of theoretical and empirical work on insect sperm competition. It considers both male and female interests in sperm utilization and the sexual conflict that can arise when these differ.
Leigh W. Simmons, 2001
5
It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, ...
IT'S SO AMAZING! provides the answers — with fun, accurate, comic-book-style artwork and a clear, lively text that reflects elementary-school children's interest in how things work, while giving them a healthy understanding of their ...
Robie H. Harris, 2011
6
Sperm Collection and Processing Methods: A Practical Guide
Discusses sperm collection procedures, outlines processing methods, and details various sperm enhancement technologies.
Rajasingam S. Jeyendran, 2003
7
The Sperm Cell: Production, Maturation, Fertilization, ...
Originally published in 2006, this is a comprehensive and definitive account of the human male gamete. The volume summarizes many unique and revealing characteristics of the sperm cell.
Christopher J. De Jonge, Christopher Barratt, 2006
8
Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition
Birkhead reveals a world in which males and females vie with each other as they strive to maximize their reproductive success. Color illustrations.
Tim Birkhead, 2000
9
WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination of Human Semen and ...
Previous editions of this volume have established themselves as the gold standard in the area of fertility investigation and treatment: this new edition continues that tradition and will be the benchmark for setting more rigorous standards ...
World Health Organization, 1999
10
Clinical atlas of sperm morphology
It embodies the basic concepts of sperm morphology, and with pedagogical use of over 140 colour figures, the book is a comprehensive guide to the subject.Dr Phadke has drawn upon his 52 years of knowledge and experience, and his vast ...
Achyut M. Phadke, 2008

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SPERM»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term sperm is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Freeze sperm at 18, bioethicist urges men
The sperm of all 18-year-olds should be frozen for use in later life because of the risks attached with being an older father, a UK bioethicist has argued. Sperm ... «BBC News, Jun 15»
2
A Dead Sperm Whale in the Bay Area Gets Burned and Graffitied
At least that's what happened to a sperm whale found a couple weeks ago at Mori Point south of San Francisco. What killed the 48-foot long creature is unclear. «CityLab, May 15»
3
'Ted 2': Mark Wahlberg Tries To Steal Tom Brady's Sperm
Ted is back, and he's got a mission: Steal Tom Brady's sperm. Um, well, that's part of his mission. In a brand new peek at Ted 2, our favorite crude teddy bear ... «Hollywood Life, Apr 15»
4
Sperm bank sued over donor's profile, mental history
Then last June, almost seven years after Collins gave birth to a son conceived with his sperm, they got a batch of emails from the sperm bank that unexpectedly ... «CBS News, Apr 15»
5
Beached sperm whale becomes pungent science lab in Pacifica
While a good portion of Pacifica looked on in silent awe Wednesday afternoon, 20 biologists in yellow waders sliced up a 48-foot-long sperm whale that washed ... «SFGate, Apr 15»
6
Sperm link found between father's DNA and autism
Sperm are not only easier to sample than a woman's eggs, but are more susceptible to environmental influences that could alter the epigenetic tags on their ... «Daily Mail, Apr 15»
7
Couple sues sperm bank after learning donor's past
Then last June, almost seven years after Collins gave birth to a son conceived with his sperm, they got a batch of emails from the sperm bank that unexpectedly ... «WKRN.com, Apr 15»
8
A Diet High in Pesticides Is Linked to a Lower Sperm Count
Chavarro and his colleagues wanted to see if pesticide residues left on fruits and vegetables might have a similar effect on sperm—and their findings suggest ... «TIME, Mar 15»
9
'Sacred Sperm' Film Explores Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Taboos
So Gruder created "Sacred Sperm," an hour-long documentary in which he tries to tackle the hard questions he can expect from his son. The film presents an ... «Huffington Post, Feb 15»
10
Scientists create artificial human eggs and sperm
A group of scientists has created artificial human sperm and eggs using human embryonic stem cells and skin cells. While researchers have already previously ... «CBS News, Dec 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Sperm [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/sperm>. Apr 2024 ».
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