Describing an organism or organism type that reproduces through the fusion of unequal-sized or structurally different gametes.
From Greek 'anisos' (unequal) + 'gamos' (marriage/union) + '-ous' (adjective suffix). The term became standard in biology texts by the early 20th century.
The mystery of why anisogamy evolved is still debated: some scientists think it's more efficient because the egg gets packed with nutrients while sperm focuses on mobility, a perfect division of labor!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.