Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

mononuclear

American  
[mon-uh-noo-klee-er, -nyoo-, -kyuh-ler] / ˌmɒn əˈnu kli ər, -ˈnju-, -kjə lər /

adjective

  1. Cell Biology. Also mononucleate. having only one nucleus.

  2. Chemistry. (of hydrocarbons) monocyclic.


mononuclear British  
/ ˌmɒnəʊˈnjuːklɪə /

adjective

  1. (of a cell) having only one nucleus

  2. another word for monocyclic

"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

Pronunciation

See nuclear.

Etymology

Origin of mononuclear

First recorded in 1885–90; mono- + nuclear

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.

See Examples For:

Because the young mononuclear phagocytes did not appear to cross into the brain, researchers believe they may influence brain health indirectly.

From Science Daily Oct. 23, 2025

To produce youthful versions, researchers used human induced pluripotent stem cells -- adult cells reprogrammed to an early embryonic-like state -- to generate new, young mononuclear phagocytes.

From Science Daily Oct. 23, 2025

"We did not see that decline in mice receiving young mononuclear phagocytes, and we believe this may be responsible for some of the memory improvements that we observed."

From Science Daily Oct. 23, 2025

The cells, known as mononuclear phagocytes, normally circulate through the body to clear harmful substances.

From Science Daily Oct. 23, 2025

Every pus preparation shews that the polynuclear neutrophil leucocytes can change in the tissues to mononuclear, and the isolated observations of Japha should be explained in this manner.

From Histology of the Blood Normal and Pathological by Myers, W.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training