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Showing results for protoplasm. Search instead for protoplasmal.
Synonyms

protoplasm

American  
[proh-tuh-plaz-uhm] / ˈproʊ təˌplæz əm /

noun

  1. Biology. (no longer in technical use) the colloidal and liquid substance of which cells are formed, excluding horny, chitinous, and other structural material; the cytoplasm and nucleus.

  2. Obsolete. the living matter of organisms regarded as the physical basis of life, having the ability to sense and conduct stimuli.

protoplasm British  
/ ˈprəʊtəˌplæzəm /

noun

  1. biology the living contents of a cell, differentiated into cytoplasm and nucleoplasm

"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
protoplasm Scientific  
/ prō′tə-plăz′əm /

  1. The semifluid, translucent substance that forms the living matter in all plant and animal cells. Composed of proteins, fats, and other substances suspended in water, it includes the cytoplasm and (in eukaryotes) the nucleus.

protoplasm Cultural  

  1. The jellylike material in a cell, both inside and outside the nucleus, where the chemical reactions that support life take place.

Other Word Forms

  • interprotoplasmic adjective
  • protoplasmal adjective
  • protoplasmatic adjective
  • protoplasmic adjective

Etymology

Origin of protoplasm

From the New Latin word prōtoplasma, dating back to 1840–50. See proto-, -plasm

Compare meaning

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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.

From there it wasn’t such a leap to guess that protoplasm might, in certain extraordinary moments, coalesce and be projected from the body.

From Slate • Jul. 18, 2016

Intensities this great can damage individual cells, variously causing their protoplasm to stream inside them, altering their permeability, or rupturing their walls through cavitation.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

With Smith on hand, the middle-aged Brando was transformed into the jowly patriarch Vito Corleone, the teenage Blair into a scarred and wild-eyed demon, and William Hurt into a mass of protoplasm for "Altered States."

From US News • Jul. 31, 2014

With Smith on hand, the middle-aged Brando was transformed into the jowly patriarch Vito Corleone, the teenage Blair into a scarred and wild-eyed demon, and William Hurt into a mass of protoplasm for “Altered States.”

From Washington Times • Jul. 31, 2014

She probably thinks I'm turning myself into a gob of protoplasm or something.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

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.