Basic unit of heredity

Latest answer — September 11, 2026

3 Down

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Clue explained

A GENE is a basic unit of heredity: a segment of DNA that helps determine an inherited characteristic or biological function.

Clue type:
Definition
An educational illustration showing a gene within a DNA strand

NYT Midi Crossword

This clue's Friday, September 11, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1"The Gift of the ___"
  2. 5Grocery shopper's memory aid
  3. 9Plow-pulling animals
  4. 10Things to do
  5. 11Banning books or limiting free speech, for example
  6. 13Not disturb, as sleeping dogs
  7. 14"So cute!," cutesily
  8. 17Public relations concern
  9. 20Red vegetable in borscht
  10. 22Promotes an album in many arenas, say
  11. 23French fashion magazine
  12. 24Conclude by
  13. 25___ mater
  14. 26Seriously wound
  15. 27Palindromic term of address

Down

  1. 1Comfy shoe, for short
  2. 2Figure skating jump
  3. 3Basic unit of heredity
  4. 4App often shortened to its first five letters
  5. 5Glowing obstacle in some heist movies
  6. 6"Sorta" suffix
  7. 7Hit the slopes
  8. 8Baker's measure: Abbr.
  9. 10Threesome
  10. 12Firstborn
  11. 15Protagonist in the "Twilight" series
  12. 16Alabama city in civil rights history
  13. 17One object ... or two celebrities?
  14. 18___ Lisa Vito, iconic character played by Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny"
  15. 19Automaker with a four-ring logo
  16. 21There's no "I" in it, so they say

The answer to “Basic unit of heredity” in the New York Times Midi crossword is GENE — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 11, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 3-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Basic unit of heredity” answer

GENE (4 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is GENE.

What does GENE mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of GENE is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • (in informal use) a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring

When else has “Basic unit of heredity” appeared?

New York Times Midi reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 11, 2026 (most recent) → GENE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Basic unit of heredity”?

The answer is GENE, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 11, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Basic unit of heredity”?

4 letters: GENE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 11, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 3-Down.

Can “Basic unit of heredity” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times Midi sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Midi answers?

The full grid for September 11, 2026 is on the NYT Midi answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Midi Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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