food vacuole

American

noun

Cell Biology.

a membrane-enclosed cell vacuole with a digestive function, containing material taken up in by the process of phagocytosis.

food vacuole British

noun

biology a cavity surrounding ingested food particles in some protozoans

"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

Etymology

Origin of food vacuole

First recorded in 1885–90

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.

Phagocytosis is a kind of endocytosis in which extensions of the cell surround a particle and package it within a food vacuole.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

Food captured in the oral groove enters a food vacuole, where it combines with digestive enzymes.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Each parasite has a holding tank called a food vacuole filled with iron-rich crystallized hemozoin.

From New York Times • Jun. 10, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023