What is "polyspermy"

Polyspermy \Pol"y*sper`my\, n. (Biol.) Fullness of sperm, or seed; the passage of more than one spermatozo["o]n into the vitellus in the impregnation of the ovum.

n. (context biology English) The penetration of an ovum by more than one sperm

In biology, polyspermy describes an egg that has been fertilized by more than one sperm. Diploid organisms normally contain two copies of each chromosome, one from each parent. The cell resulting from polyspermy, on the other hand, contains three or more copies of each chromosome—one from the egg and one each from multiple sperm. Usually, the result is an inviable zygote. This may occur because sperm are too efficient at reaching and fertilizing eggs due to the selective pressures of sperm competition. Such a situation is often deleterious to the female: in other words, the male-male competition among sperm spills over to create sexual conflict.