1. a type of cell division that produces reproductive cells (gametes) with half the number of chromosomes
Usage: biology
2. a figure of speech that deliberately understates or minimizes something for effect
Usage: rhetoric; literary

Examples

• During meiosis, chromosomes pair up and exchange genetic material.
• Meiosis produces eggs and sperm cells in animals.
• The biology teacher explained how meiosis differs from mitosis.
• Meiosis ensures genetic diversity in offspring.
• His comment ‘not bad’ was meiosis for an outstanding performance.
• The author used meiosis to create dramatic irony in the scene.