meiosistop to bottom:In meiosis a parent cell replicates and recombines, divides once to create two daughter cells, then divides again creating four daughter cells, each of which has half the genetic content of the original parent cell.mei·o·sis (m?-??s?s)n. pl. mei·o·ses (-s?z?) 1. Genetics The process of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes from diploid to haploid, as in the production of gametes.2. Rhetorical understatement.[Greek mei?sis, diminution, from meioun, to diminish, from mei?n, less; see mei- in Indo-European roots.]mei·ot?ic (-?t??k) adj.mei·ot?i·cal·ly adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.meiosis (ma????s?s) n, pl -ses (-?si?z) 1. (Biology) a type of cell division in which a nucleus divides into four daughter nuclei, each containing half the chromosome number of the parent nucleus: occurs in all sexually reproducing organisms in which haploid gametes or spores are produced. Compare mitosis See also prophase22. (Rhetoric) rhetoric another word for litotes[C16: via New Latin from Greek: a lessening, from meioun to diminish, from mei?n less] meiotic adj mei?otically advCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014mei?o?sis (ma??o? s?s) n. 1. part of the process of gamete formation in sexual reproduction consisting of chromosome conjugation and two cell divisions after which the chromosome number is reduced by half. Compare mitosis. 2. expressive understatement, esp. litotes. [1580?90;