cell

[sel]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cell ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small room, as in a convent or prison.

any of various small compartments or bounded areas forming part of a whole.

a small group acting as a unit within a larger organization: a local cell of the Communist party.

Biology. a usually microscopic structure containing nuclear and cytoplasmic material enclosed by a semipermeable membrane and, in plants, a cell wall; the basic structural unit of all organisms.

Entomology. one of the areas into which the wing of an insect is divided by the veins.

Botany. locule.

Electricity.

Also called battery, electric cell, electrochemical cell, galvanic cell, voltaic cell.a device that generates electrical energy from chemical energy, usually consisting of two different conducting substances placed in an electrolyte.Compare dry cell.
solar cell.

Also called electrolytic cell. Physical Chemistry. a device for producing electrolysis, consisting essentially of the electrolyte, its container, and the electrodes.

Aeronautics. the gas container of a balloon.

Ecclesiastical. a monastery or nunnery, usually small, dependent on a larger religious house.

Telecommunications.

one of the distinct geographical areas covered by a radio transmitter in a cellular phone system.
cell phone.

verb (used without object)

to live in a cell: The two prisoners had celled together for three years.

Origin of cell

before 1150; 1665–75 for def 4; Middle English celle < Old French celle < Medieval Latin cella monastic cell, Latin: room (see cella); Old English cell < Medieval Latin, as above; see cella

Related formscell-like, adjective

cell

[sel]

noun

cel.

cel

or cell

[sel]

noun

a transparent celluloid sheet on which a character, scene, etc., is drawn or painted and which constitutes one frame in the filming of an animated cartoon: may be overlapped for change of background or foreground.

Origin of cel

by shortening of celluloid

cell phone

or cell·phone

[sel-fohn]

noun

a wireless telephone using a system of low-powered radio transmitters, with each transmitter covering a distinct geographical area (cell), and computer equipment to switch a call from one area to another, thus enabling broad-scale portable phone service.

such a wireless telephone that has other functions, as text messaging or Internet access.

mobile phone.

Also called cel·lu·lar phone, cel·lu·lar tel·e·phone.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cells

germ, egg, unit, bacterium, chamber, apartment, cage, cubicle, embryo, microorganism, spore, vacuole, corpuscle, follicle, utricle, recess, crib, booth, receptacle, dungeon

Examples from the Web for cells

Contemporary Examples of cells

The cells are austere—essentially hardened trailers—that cost about $40,000 each to build.
9/11 Mastermind Is Afraid of the Ladies
Tim Mak
December 16, 2014
In fact, four of 20 cells at Cobalt were found to have bars across the cell to allow this.
Inside the CIA’s Sadistic Dungeon
Tim Mak
December 9, 2014
African-Americans, wrote Mailer, “known down to the cells of [their] existence that life is war, nothing but war.”
The FBI’s Bogus ISIS Bust
James Poulos
November 21, 2014
The cells that hold its 49 inmates for 22 hours a day were a few feet bigger, and no one shares.
Here’s a Reform Even the Koch Brothers and George Soros Can Agree On
Tina Brown
November 10, 2014
Those with the disease have some cells that are genetically normal and some with the mutation.
The True Story of ‘The Elephant Man’
Russell Saunders
November 3, 2014

Historical Examples of cells

There were cells, in which he kept his wives, after he had married them.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Ned buzzed by, picked up two of the thugs, and hauled them off to the cells.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison
They lead to the cells of the friars, and are distinct from the entrances to the church.
Roman Catholicism in Spain
Anonymous
And he had arrived at what he called the hypothesis of the abortion of cells.
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola
The cells of our own bodies are to-day living, as it were, in an ocean.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker

British Dictionary definitions for cells

cell

noun

a small simple room, as in a prison, convent, monastery, or asylum; cubicle

any small compartmentthe cells of a honeycomb

biology the basic structural and functional unit of living organisms. It consists of a nucleus, containing the genetic material, surrounded by the cytoplasm in which are mitochondria, lysosomes, ribosomes, and other organelles. All cells are bounded by a cell membrane; plant cells have an outer cell wall in addition

biology any small cavity or area, such as the cavity containing pollen in an anther

a device for converting chemical energy into electrical energy, usually consisting of a container with two electrodes immersed in an electrolyteSee also primary cell, secondary cell, dry cell, wet cell, fuel cell

short for electrolytic cell

a small religious house dependent upon a larger one

a small group of persons operating as a nucleus of a larger political, religious, or other organizationCommunist cell

maths a small unit of volume in a mathematical coordinate system

zoology one of the areas on an insect wing bounded by veins

the geographical area served by an individual transmitter in a cellular radio network

Derived Formscell-like, adjective

Word Origin for cell

C12: from Medieval Latin cella monk's cell, from Latin: room, storeroom; related to Latin cēlāre to hide

cell

noun

a variant spelling of cel

cel

cell

noun

short for celluloid (def. 2b), celluloid (def. 2c)

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

Word Origin and History for cells

cel

"celluloid sheet for an animated cartoon," from celluloid; became current by c.1990 when they became collectible.

cell

early 12c., "small monastery, subordinate monastery" (from Medieval Latin in this sense), later "small room for a monk or a nun in a monastic establishment; a hermit's dwelling" (c.1300), from Latin cella "small room, store room, hut," related to Latin celare "to hide, conceal."

The Latin word represents PIE root *kel- "conceal" (cf. Sanskrit cala "hut, house, hall;" Greek kalia "hut, nest," kalyptein "to cover," koleon "sheath," kelyphos "shell, husk;" Latin clam "secret;" Old Irish cuile "cellar," celim "hide," Middle Irish cul "defense, shelter;" Gothic hulistr "covering," Old English heolstor "lurking-hole, cave, covering," Gothic huljan "cover over," hulundi "hole," hilms "helmet," halja "hell," Old English hol "cave," holu "husk, pod").

Sense of monastic rooms extended to prison rooms (1722). Used in 14c., figuratively, of brain "compartments;" used in biology by 17c. of various cavities (e.g. wood structure, segments of fruit, bee combs), gradually focusing to the modern sense of "basic structure of living organisms" (which OED dates to 1845).

Electric battery sense is from 1828, based on original form. Meaning "small group of people working within a larger organization" is from 1925. Cell body is from 1851; cell division from 1846; cell membrane from 1837 (but cellular membrane is 1732); cell wall from 1842.

cells in Medicine

cell

[sĕl]

n.

The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semipermeable cell membrane.

A small enclosed cavity or space.

cells in Science

cell

[sĕl]

The basic unit of living matter in all organisms, consisting of protoplasm enclosed within a cell membrane. All cells except bacterial cells have a distinct nucleus that contains the cell's DNA as well as other structures (called organelles) that include mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, and vacuoles. The main source of energy for all of a cell's biological processes is ATP. See more at eukaryote prokaryote.

Any of various devices, or units within such devices, that are capable of converting some form of energy into electricity. Cells contain two electrodes and an electrolyte. See more at electrolytic cell solar cell voltaic cell.

Related formscellular adjective

cells in Culture

cell

A region of the atmosphere in which air tends to circulate without flowing outward.

cell

The basic unit of all living things except viruses. In advanced organisms, cells consist of a nucleus (which contains genetic material), cytoplasm, and organelles, all of which are surrounded by a cell membrane.

Note

Groups of cells with similar structure and function form tissues.

cell phone

A portable telephone that uses wireless cellular technology to send and receive phone signals. This technology works by dividing the Earth into small regions called cells. Within each cell the wireless telephone signal goes over its assigned bandwidth to a cell tower, which relays the signal to a telephone switching network, connecting the user to the desired party.

Note

The proximity to a cell tower is often the key to good reception when using a cell phone.