multicellular
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of multicellular
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."
Vocabulary lists containing multicellular
Cell Biology - Middle School
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Cell Biology - High School
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Plants (Botany) - Middle School
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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.
Anisogamy is one of the most fundamental facts of life: Sexual reproduction is anisogamous in all animals and almost all multicellular plants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Others are much larger and multicellular, such as kelp, slime molds, and red algae.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
Data from multicellular organisms will be needed to determine whether the same patterns apply to more complex life, including humans.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 24, 2025
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
Eventually the dimming will reverse itself, but scientists predict all multicellular life on Earth will perish long before that occurs.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
