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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.

This step leaves behind the extracellular matrix, which is the natural framework that surrounds cells in tissues and provides both structural support and biological signals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

Researchers may also be able to design therapies that block or neutralize these circulating extracellular vesicles, reducing their damaging effects on the heart.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

Diseased kidneys release tiny particles known as "circulating extracellular vesicles" into the bloodstream.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

About 70% of the body water that gets frozen in the wood frogs is frozen outside their cells, in those "safe" extracellular spaces: inside the abdomen and in sheets between their skin and muscles.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2025

Such toxins being set free in the culture medium are often known as extracellular.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" 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.