multicellular

[ muhl-tee-sel-yuh-ler, muhl-tahy- ]

/ ˌmʌl tiˈsɛl yə lər, ˌmʌl taɪ- /

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adjective

composed of several or many cells.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of multicellular

First recorded in 1855–60; multi- + cellular

Words nearby multicellular

multangular, multeity, multi, multiaccess, multicast, multicellular, multichannel analyser, multicide, multicoil, multicollinearity, multicolor

How to use multicellular in a sentence

Placozoans, the microscopic multicellular creatures that seem to be among the simplest in the animal kingdom, move and react to their surroundings.
Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof.|Veronique Greenwood|May 18, 2021|Quanta Magazine
So according to this model, not all viruses come from deep time—that is, early in the immense arc of the earth’s history, before any multicellular life existed.
The Vast Viral World: What We Know (and Don’t Know) - Issue 99: Universality|Lauren E. Oakes|April 7, 2021|Nautilus
In fact, it’s something that we have in common with every multicellular organism on Earth — and a bunch of the single-celled ones, too.
Let’s learn about DNA|Bethany Brookshire|April 6, 2021|Science News For Students
Jablonka guesses that the behaviors on display in the xenobots are probably “something like the most basic self-organization of a multicellular animal-cell aggregate.”
Cells Form Into ‘Xenobots’ on Their Own|Philip Ball|March 31, 2021|Quanta Magazine

She suspects the findings might illuminate the very origins of multicellular life.
Cells Form Into ‘Xenobots’ on Their Own|Philip Ball|March 31, 2021|Quanta Magazine
The multicellular organism was a colony of unicellular organisms, and its life was a sum of the lives of its constituent elements.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
Weismann deduces from this a radical distinction between the unicellular and the multicellular organisms.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
We may also regard these articulated multicellular threads as the first sketch for the formation of tissues in the metaphyta.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
The third and highest stage of individuality to which the multicellular organism attains is the stock or colony (cormus).
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
In the same way the real multicellular fungi (ascomycetes and basimycetes) may be traced to the tissue-forming alg.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel

Scientific definitions for multicellular

multicellular

[ mŭl′tē-sĕl′yə-lər ]

Having or consisting of many cells. Compare unicellular.