multicellular

American  

[muhl-tee-sel-yuh-ler, muhl-tahy-] / ˌmʌl tiˈsɛl yə lər, ˌmʌl taɪ- /

adjective

1. composed of several or many cells.

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multicellular Scientific  

/ mŭl′tē-sĕl′yə-lər /

1. Having or consisting of many cells.

2. Compare unicellular

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Etymology

Origin of multicellular

First recorded in 1855–60; multi- + cellular

Explanation

Something that's multicellular is a complex organism, made up of many cells. Humans are multicellular. While single-celled organisms can't usually be seen without a microscope, you can see most multicelluar organisms with the naked eye. Plants and animals are multicellular — although they all, including humans, start as a single cell that reproduces into many. Multi means "many," and the Latin root of cellular is cellularis, "of little cells," from cella, "small room."

Example Sentences

Though Jablonski is more bullish on the survival prospects of unicellular life, there is some comfort for the multicellular among us too.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2025

By the beginning of the Cambrian explosion of multicellular organisms about 540 million years ago, the ancestors of today’s ecdysozoans were already alive and varied in form and behavior, suggesting they arose even earlier.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 20, 2024

A new pre-print atlas of neurotransmitters maps out such chemicals in C. elegans, a millimeter-long multicellular roundworm often used in biological experiments.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2024

Based on such self-organization, the mammalian embryo develops from a single fertilized egg cell into a multicellular organism.

From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024

All across Yazd, people faced the qibla to pray, a titanic multicellular entity focused on the same moment in space-time.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram