unicellular
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unicellular
Explanation
In biology, the adjective unicellular describes an organism that has only one single cell, like most kinds of bacteria. You're most likely to see the word unicellular in a biology textbook, where it is used to talk about microscopic, single-celled organisms. Many types of fungi are unicellular, as well as amoebas, bacteria, and other tiny creatures and plants. The word unicellular combines the Latin prefix meaning "one," uni, and the word cellular, which has the root word cella, "small room."
Vocabulary lists containing unicellular
Cell Biology - Middle School
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"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Cell Biology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team also traced the gene FOS, which is widely expressed in blood cells across many animal species, back to a unicellular ancestor that lived about 700 million years ago.
From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026
Galdieria extract blue comes from a unicellular red algae, which is an organism that thrives in extreme marine and terrestrial environments, according to the National Institutes of Health.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
Though Jablonski is more bullish on the survival prospects of unicellular life, there is some comfort for the multicellular among us too.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2025
Macroalgae live in both fresh and seawater and are complex multicellular organisms with distinct organs and tissues, in contrast to microalgae, which are microscopic and unicellular.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2024
Immortality, definition of, 82; of germ-cells, ix; of unicellular organisms, 17; of germ-cells, 80.
From The Biological Problem of To-day Preformation Or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development by Oscar Hertwig
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
