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Showing results for extracellular. Search instead for extracellular+matrix.

extracellular

American  
[ek-struh-sel-yuh-ler] / ˌɛk strəˈsɛl yə lər /

adjective

Biology.

  1. outside a cell or cells.

extracellular British  
/ ˌɛkstrəˈsɛljʊlə /

adjective

  1. biology situated or occurring outside a cell or cells

"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
extracellular Scientific  
/ ĕk′strə-sĕl′yə-lər /

  1. Located or occurring outside a cell or cells.

Other Word Forms

  • extracellularly adverb

Etymology

Origin of extracellular

First recorded in 1865–70; extra- + cellular

Vocabulary lists containing extracellular

Cell Biology - Middle School

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Cell Biology - High School

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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.

The therapy is delivered as a liquid injection that quickly forms a web of nanofibers resembling the spinal cord's extracellular matrix.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2026

This protein is known for its ability to reshape the extracellular matrix - the structure that organizes and maintains healthy tissue.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2026

"Cancer cells release small extracellular vesicles containing PD-L1, which are thought to reduce the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. However, how PD-L1 is sorted into these vesicles has remained unclear."

From Science Daily • Jan. 28, 2026

"This is one of the first demonstrations that phosphorylation can control how cells interact in the extracellular space," Dalva said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 23, 2025

Further growth is restricted, practically, to the extracellular regions, and the epimerite often comes to appear ultimately as a small appendage at the anterior end of the protomerite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

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.