prophase: Meaning and Definition of

pro•phase

Pronunciation: (prō'fāz"), [key]
— n.
  1. the first stage of mitosis or meiosis in eukaryotic cell division, during which the nuclear envelope breaks down and strands of chromatin form into chromosomes.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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