stroma
Americannoun
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stromata
plural
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Cell Biology. the supporting framework or matrix of a cell.
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Anatomy. the supporting framework, usually of connective tissue, of an organ, as distinguished from the parenchyma.
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Mycology. (in certainfungi ) a compact mass of tissue, in or on which the fructifications may be developed.
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Botany. the matrix of a chloroplast containing various molecules and ions.
noun
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the gel-like matrix of chloroplasts and certain cells
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the fibrous connective tissue forming the matrix of the mammalian ovary and testis
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a dense mass of hyphae that is produced by certain fungi and gives rise to spore-producing bodies
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stroma
First recorded in 1825–35; from Late Latin strōma “mattress,” from Greek strôma “bed-covering”; akin to Latin sternere “to spread, strew, ” strātum ( see stratum)
Vocabulary lists containing stroma
Photosynthesis - Middle School
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Photosynthesis - High School
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Plants (Botany) - High 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.
See Examples For:
The researchers examined 24 pancreatic cancer samples and found that the stroma, the connective tissue that supports the tumor, plays an active role in cancer progression rather than serving as a passive structure.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 30, 2026
Differences: mitochondria have a matrix and inner folds called cristae; chloroplast contains accessory pigments in thylakoids, which form grana and a stroma.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The light harvesting reactions take place in the thylakoid membranes, and the synthesis of sugar takes place in the fluid inside the inner membrane, which is called the stroma.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The fluid enclosed by the inner membrane that surrounds the grana is called the stroma.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Epichloë, which clothes the sheaths and halms of grasses with its stroma, at first snowy white and later ochre-yellow as the perithecia form, is another example.
From Disease in Plants by H. Marshall Ward
The same functions of storage in advance of fructification are also exercised by the stromata so common in Ascomycetes.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various
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.
