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cell line

American

noun

Cell Biology.

a perpetuating strain of cells in laboratory culture.

cell line British

noun

biology a clone of animal or plant cells that can be grown in a suitable nutrient culture medium in the laboratory

"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 line

First recorded in 1950–55

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 cell line, called "HeLa" after the patient's first and last name, was sent to research labs around the world.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

They used CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce the exact same mutation into a healthy stem cell line.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

One dataset came from a human leukemia cell line that is commonly used to study red blood cell traits.

From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025

This type of stem cell, which the researchers derived from a federally approved stem cell line, can differentiate into almost any other cell type if provided the right proteins or other biochemical signals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2024

But it was the best of times for science in that this very peculiar tumor gave rise to the HeLa cell line.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023