nodule
Americannoun
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a small node, knot, or knob.
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a small, rounded mass or lump.
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Botany. a tubercle.
noun
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a small knot, lump, or node
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Also called: root nodule. any of the knoblike outgrowths on the roots of clover and many other legumes: contain bacteria involved in nitrogen fixation
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anatomy any small node or knoblike protuberance
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a small rounded lump of rock or mineral substance, esp in a matrix of different rock material
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A small, usually hard mass of tissue in the body.
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A small, knoblike outgrowth found on the roots of many legumes, such as alfalfa, beans, and peas. Nodules grow after the roots have been infected with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Rhizobium.
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See more at legume
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A small, rounded lump of a mineral or mixture of minerals that is distinct from and usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment. Nodules often form by replacement of a small part of the rocks in which they form.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nodule
1590–1600; < Latin nōdulus a little knot, equivalent to nōd ( us ) node + -ulus -ule
Explanation
A nodule is a small, raised bump under the skin. You might notice a nodule on the top of your foot after spraining your ankle. Any solid bump or node that you can feel just beneath your skin is a nodule. You may have noticed nodules in your neck when you have a sore throat or a nodule on your shin where you bumped it into the coffee table. Another kind of nodule is very similar, but appears on a plant's surface. The Latin root word is nodulus, "small knot," from nodus, or "knot."
Vocabulary lists containing nodule
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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National Nurses Week: Medical Branches and Conditions
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The Lives of a Cell
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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.
The same AI pattern-recognition that’s learning to spot breast tumors is being applied to thyroid screening, lung nodule detection and colonoscopies.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
The diagnosis occurred last week, following a urinary screening that revealed a small nodule in his prostate, which revealed the aggressive Stage 4 prostate cancer, according to the statement.
From Slate • May 20, 2025
After separating out the minerals, the mining ships then pipe back overboard the processed waters, sediment and mining “fines,” which are the small particles of the ground-up nodule ore.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025
Five expert human annotators might provide five different segmentations, perhaps disagreeing on the existence or extent of the borders of a nodule in a lung CT image.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2024
“Right,” he said, and gripped a golden nodule that protruded from the trunk.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
