centromere n 1: a specialized condensed region of each chromosome that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape; "the centromere is difficult to sequence" [syn: {centromere}, {kinetochore}]
centromere \centromere\ n. (Biol.) a specialized condensed region of a chromosomes that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape. [WordNet 1.5]