chro·mo·some (kr??m?-s?m?)n.1. A linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells that carries the genes and functions in the transmission of hereditary information.2. A circular strand of DNA in bacteria and archaea that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.chro?mo·so?mal (-s??m?l), chro?mo·so?mic (-s??m?k) adj.chro?mo·so?mal·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.chromosome (?kr??m??s??m) n (Genetics) any of the microscopic rod-shaped structures that appear in a cell nucleus during cell division, consisting of nucleoprotein arranged into units (genes) that are responsible for the transmission of hereditary characteristics. See also homologous chromosomes ?chromo?somal adj ?chromo?somally advCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014chro?mo?some (?kro? m??so?m) n. one of a set of threadlike structures, composed of DNA and a protein, that form in the nucleus when the cell begins to divide and that carry the genes which determine an individual’s hereditary traits. [