cell
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A device which stores electrical power.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sehlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɛl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
biology
The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.
A device which stores electrical power; used either singly or together in batteries; the basic unit of a battery.
A room in a prison or jail for one or more inmates.
A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person.
A small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement
A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
verb
transitive
To place or enclose in a cell.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.
Used this way, cell is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The normal degeneration and death of living cells (as in various epithelial cells).
The process in reproduction and growth by which a cell divides to form daughter cells.
The theory that cells form the fundamental structural and functional units of all living organisms.
An immune response (chiefly against viral or fungal invasions or transplanted tissue) that involves T cells.
A thin membrane (a double layer of lipids) enclosing the cytoplasm of a cell.
A part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Relating to cells.
The metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic molecules.
The process in reproduction and growth by which a cell divides to form daughter cells.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- cellularadjective
- extracellularadjective
- intracellularadjective
- transplantationnoun
- apoptosisnoun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.