cells
English meaning: Cells
Definition
A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
Example
“Scientists studied how cancer cells spread through the body.”
Another example: “The prisoners were locked in their cells for the night.”
Usage — When, Where & How
Plural noun (of 'cell') with several senses: the basic units of living organisms (biology), small rooms in a prison or monastery, compartments in a battery, and units in a phone network; the biological and prison senses are the most common.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Latin 'cella' (a small room, storeroom), via Old French; the biological sense was coined by Robert Hooke in 1665 to describe the box-like structures he saw in cork.
Synonyms
- units
- chambers
- compartments
- cubicles
Related Words
- pluripotent
- fibroblasts
- dendritic
- secrete
- cytotoxic
- endothelial
- epithelial
- platelets
- apoptosis
- antigen
Common Collocations
- stem cells
- blood cells
- prison cell
- cancer cells
- brain cells
- battery cells
Word Forms
cell (sing.); cells (pl.); cellular (adj)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B