Dictionary.com

chloroplast

[ klawr-uh-plast, klohr- ]
/ ˈklɔr əˌplæst, ˈkloʊr- /

noun Botany.

a plastid containing chlorophyll.

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Origin of chloroplast

First recorded in 1885–90; chloro(phyll) + -plast

OTHER WORDS FROM chloroplast

chlo·ro·plas·tic, adjective

Words nearby chloroplast

chlorophyllase, chlorophyllous, chlorophyte, chlorophytum, chloropicrin, chloroplast, chloroplatinic, chloroplatinic acid, chloroprene, chloroprocaine hydrochloride, chloropsia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

British Dictionary definitions for chloroplast

chloroplast
/ (ˈklɔːrəʊˌplæst) /

noun

a plastid containing chlorophyll and other pigments, occurring in plants and algae that carry out photosynthesis

Derived forms of chloroplast

chloroplastic, adjective
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 chloroplast

chloroplast
[ klôr′ə-plăst′ ]

A plastid in the cells of green plants and green algae that contains chlorophylls and carotenoid pigments and creates glucose through photosynthesis. In plants, chloroplasts are usually disk-shaped and can reorient themselves in the cell to vary their exposure to sunlight. Chloroplasts contain the saclike membranes known as thylakoids, which contain the chlorophyll and are arranged in stacklike structures known as grana. Besides conducting photosynthesis, plant chloroplasts store starch and are involved in amino acid synthesis. Like mitochondria, chloroplasts have their own DNA that is different from the DNA in the nucleus, and chloroplasts are therefore believed to have evolved from symbiont bacteria, their DNA being a remnant of their past existence as independent organisms. See more at cell photosynthesis.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for chloroplast

chloroplast

A chlorophyll-containing organelle found in algal and green plant cells.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.