membrane
Americannoun
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Anatomy. a thin, pliable sheet or layer of animal or vegetable tissue, serving to line an organ, connect parts, etc.
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Cell Biology. the thin, limiting covering of a cell or cell part.
noun
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any thin pliable sheet of material
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a pliable sheetlike usually fibrous tissue that covers, lines, or connects plant and animal organs or cells
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biology a double layer of lipid, containing some proteins, that surrounds biological cells and some of their internal structures
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physics a two-dimensional entity postulated as a fundamental constituent of matter in superstring theories of particle physics
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a skin of parchment forming part of a roll
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A thin, flexible layer of tissue that covers, lines, separates, or connects cells or parts of an organism. Membranes are usually made of layers of phospholipids containing suspended protein molecules and are permeable to water and fat-soluble substances.
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See cell membrane
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Chemistry A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that is permeable to substances in solution.
Other Word Forms
- intermembrane adjective
- membraneless adjective
Etymology
Origin of membrane
1375–1425; late Middle English; Middle English membraan parchment < Latin membrāna. See member, -an
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.
He was diagnosed with meningitis -- an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
From Barron's
A major focus is Piezo1, a protein found in the membranes of cells that line blood vessels.
From Science Daily
William, who Rona chirpily informs us has “a rare mucous membrane disorder,” is happy to get “lugubrious”: “Meaning extremely sad and droopy? A topic I am all too familiar with.”
Walz's lab focuses on producing detailed images of macromolecular complexes, especially proteins found in cell membranes that help cells communicate with their surroundings.
From Science Daily
At the center of the idea is the cell membrane, the thin, flexible layer that surrounds every living cell and controls what enters and leaves it.
From Science Daily
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.
