cilia

[ sil-ee-uh ]

/ ˈsɪl i ə /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: cilia / cilium on Thesaurus.com

plural noun, singular cil·i·um

[sil-ee-uhm]. /ˈsɪl i əm/.

Biology. minute hairlike organelles, identical in structure to flagella, that line the surfaces of certain cells and beat in rhythmic waves, providing locomotion to ciliate protozoans and moving liquids along internal epithelial tissue in animals.

Anatomy. the eyelashes.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cilia

1705–15; New Latin, plural of cilium eyelash, Latin: upper eyelid, perhaps a back formation from supercilium eyebrow; see supercilium

Words nearby cilia

Cigfa, ciggy, CIGS, ciguatera, cilantro, cilia, ciliary, ciliary body, ciliary muscle, ciliary process, Ciliata

How to use cilia in a sentence

Attorney Cilia Flores, the first lady, is actually called “First Fighter.”
Venezuela’s Agony: Weak President, Strong Generals, Riots and Cocaine|Marcel Ventura|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the quantity is very small there may be no cough, the sputum reaching the larynx by action of the bronchial cilia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The cilia also send particles of food into a funnel-like opening, the gullet, on one side of the cell.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
The locomotion of the paramœcium is caused by the movement of these cilia, which lash the water like a multitude of tiny oars.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

Cilia found the suggestion excellent, and began hinting to Soren that he was suffering from sleeplessness and gout.
Dry Fish and Wet|Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen
Cilia pondered over the matter for some time; she had never before known Soren to disregard her injunctions in that fashion.
Dry Fish and Wet|Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen

British Dictionary definitions for cilia

cilia

/ (ˈsɪlɪə) /

noun

the plural of cilium

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

cilia

Origin of cilia

Words nearby cilia

Words related to cilia

How to use cilia in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cilia