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cell cycle

American  

noun

  1. the cycle of growth and asexual reproduction of a cell, consisting of interphase followed in actively dividing cells by prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.


cell cycle British  

noun

  1. the growth cycle of eukaryotic cells. It is divided into five stages, known as G 0 , in which the cell is quiescent, G 1 and G 2 , in which it increases in size, S, in which it duplicates its DNA, and M, in which it undergoes mitosis and divides

"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

Etymology

Origin of cell cycle

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Research suggests that about one-third of the variation in Y chromosome loss is inherited, involving around 150 genes related to cell cycle control and cancer risk.

From Science Daily Mar. 20, 2026

The scientists connected the protein's output signal to a regulator that controls the cell cycle.

From Science Daily Mar. 9, 2026

The cytoskeleton naturally reorganizes as cells progress through the cell cycle.

From Science Daily Feb. 28, 2026

They found that many strains lack genes normally responsible for regulating the cell cycle, the system that controls DNA replication and cell division.

From Science Daily Feb. 2, 2026

"We thought one of the knobs that evolution might have turned was by upregulating E2F7, to change the canonical cell cycle into the multiciliation cycle," said Reiter.

From Science Daily Jun. 6, 2024

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