Spore Definition

spôr

spored, spores, sporing

noun

Any of various small reproductive bodies, usually consisting of a single cell, produced by bacteria, algae, mosses, ferns, certain protozoans, etc., either asexually (asexual spore) or by the union of gametes (sexual spore): they are capable of giving rise to a new adult individual, either immediately or after an interval of dormancy.

Webster's New World

A megaspore or microspore.

American Heritage

Any small organism or cell that can develop into a new individual; seed, germ, etc.

Webster's New World

A dormant nonreproductive body formed by certain bacteria often in response to a lack of nutrients, and characteristically being highly resistant to heat, desiccation, and destruction by chemicals or enzymes.

American Heritage Medicine

A megaspore or microspore.

American Heritage Medicine

Synonyms:

verb

To bear or develop spores.

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Spore

Noun

Singular:

spore

Plural:

spores

Origin of Spore

From Modern Latin spora, from Ancient Greek σπορά (spora, “seed, a sowing”), related to σπόρος (sporos, “sowing”) and σπείρω (speirō, “to sow”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”).

From Wiktionary
Greek sporā seed sper- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition