cilia
Americanplural noun
singular
cilium-
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.
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Anatomy. the eyelashes.
noun
Etymology
Origin of cilia
1705–15; New Latin, plural of cilium eyelash, Latin: upper eyelid, perhaps a back formation from supercilium eyebrow; supercilium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By combining high speed imaging with three dimensional reconstructions of more than 1,000 cells, the researchers showed how networks of fused neurons coordinate the beating of cilia on different parts of the animal's body.
From Science Daily
The resulting tissue contained multiple cell types found in the human airway, including mucus producing cells and cells with cilia.
From Science Daily
And hundreds of centrioles, intended for eventual construction of cilia at the cell surface, got stuck in the cell body.
From Science Daily
"We can change the direction of the material's magnetization at room temperature, which in turn allows us to completely change how the cilia flex. It's like getting a swimmer to change their stroke."
From Science Daily
The researchers found many of the genes involved in the two diseases implicated primary cilia, tiny antenna-like structures on the cell's surface that sense chemical changes in the cell's surrounding environment.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
