How to Pronounce Mitosis

Mitosis is pronounced my-TOH-sis. The first part sounds like the word "my," the middle part rhymes with "go," and it ends with "sis." The stress falls on the second syllable, so you say it a bit louder: my-TOH-sis.

Many people stress the first syllable by accident and say MY-tuh-sis, but that's incorrect. Remember to put the emphasis on the middle syllable instead: my-TOH-sis. Practicing the stressed syllable a few times will help you get it right.

Mitosis breaks into three syllables: mi-TO-sis. When you say it out loud, each syllable gets its own small beat, but only the middle one (TO) gets the strong stress.

Mitosis comes from the Greek word "mitos," which means "thread." Scientists named this process after threads because during cell division, the genetic material inside the cell looks like tiny threads when you view it under a microscope.

Mitosis is the process where one cell splits into two identical copies of itself. It's like photocopying a cell so you end up with two cells that are exactly the same instead of one.

Mitochondria is another common medical word that uses the "mito-" root. Both words relate to cells, but mitochondria (pronounced my-tuh-KON-dree-uh) refers to the tiny energy-making structures inside cells, while mitosis refers to the cell division process itself.

Here's an example: "During mitosis, a parent cell divides to create two daughter cells that contain the same genetic information." This sentence shows how the word is used to describe what happens during cell division.

Mitosis doesn't have a common abbreviation because it's already a short, specific scientific term. You'll usually see it written out fully as "mitosis" in medical and scientific materials.