prophase Syllabification: (pro·phase)Pronunciation: /ˈprōˌfāz/Definition of prophase noun Biology the first stage of cell division, before metaphase, during which the chromosomes become visible as paired chromatids and the nuclear envelope disappears. The first prophase of meiosis includes the reduction division. Origin: late 19th century: from pro-2 'before' + phaseprophase in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of prophase in the British & World English dictionary
