1. Organisms that spend most of their life cycle in the diploid state, with meiosis occurring only during sexual reproduction; the diploid phase is dominant.
Usage: biology; plural of diplont; used in discussions of life cycles and reproductive strategies

Examples

• Most animals, including humans, are diplonts because they maintain a diploid chromosome set throughout their lives.
• Diplonts differ from haplonts in that their dominant life stage is diploid rather than haploid.
• In diplonts, the zygote develops directly into the adult organism without an alternation of generations.
• Many plants and fungi are not diplonts; they exhibit alternation of generations between diploid and haploid phases.