pseudopod

[soo-duh-pod]

noun

Biology.

1. a temporary protrusion of the protoplasm, as of certain protozoans, usually serving as an organ of locomotion or prehension.

pseudopod

plural

pseudopods 

1. A temporary footlike extension of a one-celled organism, such as an amoeba, used for moving about and for surrounding and taking in food.

Other Word Forms

• pseudopodal adjective
• pseudopodial adjective
• pseudopodic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pseudopod¹

1870–75; < New Latin pseudopodium; pseudo-, -podium

Example Sentences

Slime molds like those in the genus Comatricha find the perfect place to settle down by scooting around via pseudopods—cellular extensions that shoot forward for the rest of the cell to coalesce around.

From Scientific American

Less than 10% of the macrophages treated solely with saline had pseudopods.

From Economist

By the statue hangs a faded banner: Bolivia Mar. When Bolivia declared its independence it had a territorial pseudopod that extended southwest from its Andean heartland through the Atacama Desert to the sea.

From Literature

All the same, it’s striking and almost eerily deliberate looking, the kind of thing that really does appear to have been created by an intelligent hand—or flipper or pseudopod.

From Time

Next, they form a temporary crude arm, called a pseudopod, and extend it through the opening, where they pinch off chunks of cytoplasm and consume it.

From National Geographic