cell wall

[ sel-wawl ]

/ ˈsɛl ˈwɔl /

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noun Biology.

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

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Origin of cell wall

First recorded in 1840–50

Words nearby cell wall

cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, cellulose triacetate, cellulosic, cell wall, celly, celom, celo-navigation, celoscope, celosia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cell wall in a sentence

“So there’s definitely holes in the cell wall that would allow the plastids to move through,” Hertle said.
Plant Cells of Different Species Can Swap Organelles|Viviane Callier|January 20, 2021|Quanta Magazine
This posed a conundrum, because plant cells seal themselves inside a protective cell wall that offers no obvious way for so much DNA to get in.
Plant Cells of Different Species Can Swap Organelles|Viviane Callier|January 20, 2021|Quanta Magazine
The large openings that form in the cell walls also seem to be part of the plant’s emergency healing response to the wound at the graft site, but they may occur during some stage of normal plant development as well, Maliga says.
Plant Cells of Different Species Can Swap Organelles|Viviane Callier|January 20, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Damaging the cell walls of a garlic clove triggers the release of an odurless sulphur compound called alliin.
There’s a science to food pairing, and you can learn it here|Peter Coucquyt, Bernard Lahousse, and Johan Langenbick|October 22, 2020|Popular-Science

It was made of polyester and cellulose, a tough material that forms cell walls in plants.
Working up a sweat may one day power up a device|Carolyn Wilke|June 29, 2020|Science News For Students
A Wall Street person should not be allowed to help oversee the Dodd-Frank reforms.
Antonio Weiss Is Not Part of the Problem|Steve Rattner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Marvin hops over the edge of his retaining wall, which he built.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Joel Osteen wants to talk about muting your cell phone at the dinner table.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A flash of surprise and pleasure lit the fine eyes of the haughty beauty perched up there on the palace wall.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Kind of a reception-room in there—guess I know a reception-room from a hole in the wall.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Distance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of China.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
He leant against the wall of his refuge, notwithstanding this boast, and licked the ice to moisten his parched lips.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
A little boy aged two years and four months was deprived of a pencil from Thursday to Sunday for scribbling on the wall-paper.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for cell wall

cell wall

noun

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

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

Scientific definitions for cell wall

cell wall

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. Compare cell membrane.

Cultural definitions for cell wall

cell wall

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.

notes for cell wall

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