polytypic

adjective

poly·​typ·​ic ˌpä-lē-ˈti-pik How to pronounce polytypic (audio)
: represented by several or many types or subdivisions
a polytypic species of organism

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of polytypic was in 1858

Rhymes for polytypic

See All Rhymes for polytypic

Browse Nearby Words

polytypic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Polytypic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polytypic. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Medical Definition

polytypic

adjective
poly·​typ·​ic ˌpäl-i-ˈtip-ik How to pronounce polytypic (audio)
variants also polytypical
-ˈtip-i-kəl How to pronounce polytypic (audio)
: represented by several or many types or subdivisions
a polytypic species of organisms
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All