sperm
The male reproductive cell of an animal or plant.
[C/U] Both
pl: sperms
This term is primarily used in biological and medical contexts to describe the microscopic gametes. While it is a technical term, it is commonly used in everyday conversation regarding fertility and reproduction, often carrying a clinical or sterile tone.
In a broader cultural sense, the word is frequently associated with the concept of paternity and the origin of life. It is rarely used metaphorically, remaining tightly bound to its physiological meaning, though it appears in specific scientific discussions regarding genetics and heredity.
Uncountable when referring to the fluid or the collective mass of cells (sperm count). Countable when referring to an individual microscopic cell (a single sperm).