ameba
or a·moe·ba
[uh-mee-buh]
- any of numerous freshwater, marine, or parasitic one-celled protozoa of the order Amoebida, characterized by a granular nucleus surrounded by a jellylike mass of cytoplasm that forms temporary extensions, or pseudopodia, by which the organism moves, engulfs food particles, and forms food vacuoles.
- a protozoan of the genus Amoeba, inhabiting bottom vegetation of freshwater ponds and streams: used widely in laboratory studies.
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Origin of ameba
< New Latin amoeba < Greek amoibḗ change, alternation, akin to ameíbein to exchange
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ameba
Historical Examples
Yet, is man any less a unit than the Ameba, or any other simple organism?
Some are simple like the ameba, others are very complex in structure.
Being Well-BornMichael F. Guyer
The ameba solves this difficulty by dividing to form two amebæ.
Being Well-BornMichael F. Guyer
The cells are better off than the ameba, for their food is brought to them.
Applied PhysiologyFrank Overton
The cells are like the tiny animal, the ameba, and can take in the food by any part of their bodies.
Applied PhysiologyFrank Overton
ameba
- the usual US spelling of amoeba
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ameba
- A protozoa of the genus Amoeba and of related genera, occurring in soil and water and parasitic in animals.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
ameba
[ə-mē′bə]
- Another spelling of amoeba.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.