mitochondrial
Americanadjective
Explanation
Anything mitochondrial has to do with the tiny energy-producing organelles in a cell. Mitochondrial diseases result in damage to cells when they can't generate enough energy. Mitochondrial comes from mitochondria, those billions and billions of minuscule parts of a cell that act as its battery, generating energy to keep it functioning. A German microbiologist coined the word from Greek roots mitos, "thread," and khondrion, "little granule." Mitochondrial DNA is the specific genetic material within mitochondria; and mitochondrial therapies can involve replacing parts of a person's mitochondria in order to treat or prevent certain diseases.
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.
A new international study published in Current Biology reports the analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA extracted from eight Neanderthal teeth found in Stajnia Cave in Poland.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026
The mitochondrial DNA from the Stajnia individuals belongs to the same genetic branch found in Neanderthals from the Iberian Peninsula, south-eastern France, and the northern Caucasus.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026
The team found that this process depends on a mitochondrial enzyme called pyruvate carboxylase.
From Science Daily • Apr. 20, 2026
"Since Margaret Reed Lewis first sketched mitochondrial pearling in 1915, it has largely been dismissed as an anomaly linked to cellular stress," says Landoni.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
His six-person team contacted 173 people from a small village in what had been Botocudo country, explained what they were doing, obtained blood samples and extracted and examined the mitochondrial DNA.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
