polyploid

pol·y·ploid  (pl-ploid)

adj.

Having one or more extra sets of chromosomes: a polyploid species; a polyploid cell.

n.

An organism with more than two sets of chromosomes.

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poly·ploidy n.

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polyploid  (pl-ploid)

Having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. Many plants that are polyploid, such as dandelions, are sterile but can reproduce by apomixis or other asexual means. Other polyploid plants are fertile. For example, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum durum), which is used to make pasta, is tetraploid (it has four sets of chromosomes), while bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes). Polyploid plants, if viable, are often larger or more productive than diploid plants, and plant breeders often deliberately produce such plants by crossing species or other means. In the animal kingdom, polyploidy is abnormal and often fatal.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	polyploid - (genetics) an organism or cell having more than twice the haploid number of chromosomes organism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms
Adj.	1.	polyploid - of a cell or organism having more than twice the haploid number of chromosomes; "a polyploid cell"; "a polyploid species" genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms diploid - of a cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes or twice the haploid number; "diploid somatic cells" haploid, haploidic, monoploid - of a cell or organism having a single set of chromosomes