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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

"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

A third population, which did not produce 15-PGDH and instead expressed genes tied to hyaline cartilage formation and maintenance of the extracellular matrix, rose from 22% to 42%.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

These samples included both the supportive extracellular matrix of the joint and cartilage-producing chondrocyte cells.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

In plants, according to Schleiden, cells are never formed in the intercellular substance—the cytoblastem is within the cells; but extracellular cell formation seems to be the general rule in animals.

From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

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.