tissue
Americannoun
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Biology. an aggregate of similar cells and cell products forming a definite kind of structural material with a specific function, in a multicellular organism.
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any of several kinds of soft gauzy papers used for various purposes.
cleansing tissue; toilet tissue.
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an interwoven or interconnected series or mass.
a tissue of falsehoods.
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a piece of thin writing paper on which carbon copies are made.
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a woven fabric, especially one of light or gauzy texture, originally woven with gold or silver.
a blouse of a delicate tissue.
verb (used with object)
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to remove (a cosmetic or cream) with a facial tissue (often followed byoff ).
Tissue all cosmetics off the face before going to bed.
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to weave, especially with threads of gold and silver.
noun
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a part of an organism consisting of a large number of cells having a similar structure and function
connective tissue
nerve tissue
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a thin piece of soft absorbent paper, usually of two or more layers, used as a disposable handkerchief, towel, etc
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See tissue paper
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an interwoven series
a tissue of lies
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a woven cloth, esp of a light gauzy nature, originally interwoven with threads of gold or silver
verb
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rare to weave into tissue
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to decorate or clothe with tissue or tissue paper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tissue
1325–75; Middle English tissew, variant of tissu < Middle French, Old French, noun use of past participle of tistre to weave < Latin texere
Explanation
Tissue is part of the body of a living thing that is made of similar cells, like the cardiac tissue of your heart. A tissue is also a soft, thin piece of paper used for wiping noses and tear drops. The noun tissue comes from the Old French word tissu, meaning “a ribbon, or belt of woven material.” In fact, as a verb, tissue means "weave fabric strands." Today, we think of tissues as the disposable paper for blowing our noses or packing presents. A different kind of tissue is found in the body — the groups of cells that have the same job, like scar tissue that protects a wound as it heals.
Vocabulary lists containing tissue
Cell Biology - Middle School
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Cell Biology - High School
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Animals (Zoology) - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
"If you damage almost any tissue, NR4A1 responds to bring that damage down," Safe said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
"I couldn't open my eyes, my oxygen saturation and blood pressure had dropped," she said, after developing an angioedema -- a swelling in the under-skin tissue -- from the medication she received.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
"Glioblastoma is metabolically reprogrammed and expresses GLUT1 at three times the levels of normal brain tissue, so the particles preferentially accumulate in tumor tissue after crossing the blood-brain barrier," Olena Taratula said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
The treatment, named focal therapy, uses high-intensity ultrasound or freezing cryotherapy to destroy cancerous tissue.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Steph hands her a pink gift bag with polka-dot tissue paper inside.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
To investigate these effects, the team flash froze bee tissues and analyzed their RNA to measure how gene activity changed after pesticide exposure.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Those same mice were also able to eliminate sarcoma tumors, cancers that develop in connective tissues such as fat, muscle, nerves, blood vessels, bone, and cartilage.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Plus, the surprising ways stress can affect your body, and why humans can regenerate some tissues better than you might think.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
In other footage, rescue workers wiped the boy's face with tissues and tucked him in with a blanket in an ambulance.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Imogen took a packet of tissues from her bag and used one to wipe her forehead.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
So saying, he number’d carefully the gold, The vases, tripods bright, and tissued robes, 260 But nothing miss’d of all.
From The Odyssey of Homer by Cowper, William
Winged momentarily on bits of tissued flame, threaded with blood, the bats had flickered a secret to her.
From The Trespasser by Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)
Adorn'd with nature's brightest dyes, Whose gadding wing, and tissued plume, Allure so many wandering eyes.
From Olive Leaves Or, Sketches of Character by Sigourney, L. H. (Lydia Howard)
A man's mother is so tissued and woven into his life and brain that he can no more describe her than describe the air and sunlight that bless his days.
From Mince Pie by Morley, Christopher
The thoughts we think may be lasting, too, Though not inscribed on the azure blue; On the tissued walls of the soul's great dome, May be found those thoughts ne'er more to roam.
From Gleams of Sunshine Optimistic Poems by Chant, Joseph Horatio
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.
