cell wall

American  

[sel wawl] / ˈsɛl ˈwɔl /

noun

Biology.

1. the definite boundary or wall that is part of the outer structure of certain cells, as a plant cell.

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cell wall British  

noun

1. the outer layer of a cell, esp the structure in plant cells that consists of cellulose, lignin, etc, and gives mechanical support to the cell

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cell wall Scientific  

1. The outermost layer of cells in plants, bacteria, fungi, and many algae that gives shape to the cell and protects it from infection. In plants, the cell wall is made up mostly of cellulose, determines tissue texture, and often is crucial to cell function.

2. Compare cell membrane

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cell wall Cultural  

1. The rigid outer covering of a typical plant cell, composed mainly of cellulose and lying outside the cell membrane. Animal cells do not have cell walls.

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Discover More

It is the cell walls that give plant stems and wood their stiffness.

Etymology

Origin of cell wall

First recorded in 1840–50

Compare meaning

How does cell-wall compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cell wall vs. cell membrane

Example Sentences

Scientists have revealed how viruses that infect bacteria shut down MurJ, a protein essential for building the bacterial cell wall.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026

Zhoie Perez slouched against the holding cell wall in Men’s Central Jail and closed her eyes, hoping a guard would jolt her awake with the words she’d been waiting for: The bus is here!

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

Finding scratch marks on a cell wall that he believes he made, he knelt down and began to cry.

From BBC • Dec. 14, 2024

The researchers attribute this effectiveness to the compound's targeting of the physical and functional integrity of the bacteria's cell wall.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

Or viruses can bud through a cell wall, like drips coming out of a faucet—drip, drip, drip, drip, copy, copy, copy, copy —that’s the way the aids virus works.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston