slime mould

British

noun

any of various simple spore-producing organisms typically found as slimy masses on rotting vegetation, where they engulf food particles by amoeboid movements. Formerly regarded as fungi, they are now classified as protoctists of the phyla Myxomycota (true, or cellular slime moulds) or Acrasiomycota (plasmodial slime moulds)

"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

Example Sentences

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Taking photos of slime mould is not a simple process, although technology has made it much easier in recent years.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

Barry explains how the slime mould feed off bacteria, algae and types of fungi and are an important part of the ecosystem.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

The beauty of slime mould is revealed in a picture by Jason McCombe, who won the Botanical Britain category.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024

"The Craterium minutum slime mould was found on decaying vegetation, at the edge of a compost heap in my garden, captured following a hard frost," said Webb.

From BBC • Feb. 1, 2024

At first glance, the proposition that human civilisation imitates the behaviour of slime mould is preposterous, an evolutionary leap backwards.

From Open Source Democracy by Rushkoff, Douglas

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023