cell theory

American  

noun

1. a basic tenet of modern biology, first stated by Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann in 1838–39, that cells are the basic units of structure and function in living organisms.

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Example Sentences

Mukherjee recounts the beginnings of cell theory among 19th-century European scientists and the growing consensus that the cell is the fundamental unit of life in plants and animals.

From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2022

The unified cell theory states that all organisms are composed of one or more cells, the cell is the basic unit of life, and new cells arise from existing cells.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

We don’t avoid using the “g-word” when talking about gravitational theory, nor do we avoid the “c-word” when talking about cell theory.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2015

That discovery led to others, which led to the creation of cell theory, the notion that all living things are made of cells, and that new cells are made when old cells divide.

From Scientific American • May 10, 2013

Only when cell theory established itself in the 1830s was preformationism abandoned.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton