any of various cells, esp. an egg or sperm cell, from which a new organism can develop
see also somatic cell
germ cell in American English
noun
Biology
the sexual reproductive cell at any stage from the primordial cell to the mature gamete
Word origin
[1850–55]This word is first recorded in the period 1850–55. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: clear-cut, ethos, headhunting, overprint, proletariat
Examples of 'germ cell' in a sentence
germ cell
Ten different donor sources have been used so far and new germ-cell lines have been created from all of them.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It targets germ cell tumours which make up just three per cent of all childhood cancers but have doubled in 45 years.
The Sun (2015)
Because the polar body and the egg descend from the same germ cell, what is true for one should be true for the other.
The Scientist (2000)
As with embryonic stem cells, germ cells undergo a form of reprogramming.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This has limited scientists' ability to study germ cells to establish how they develop, and how genetic defects or environmental exposures cause fertility problems.