tissue
Americannoun
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tissues
plural
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Biology. an aggregate of similar cells and cell products forming a definite kind of structural material with a specific function, in a multicellular organism.
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any of several kinds of soft gauzy papers used for various purposes.
cleansing tissue; toilet tissue.
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an interwoven or interconnected series or mass.
a tissue of falsehoods.
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a piece of thin writing paper on which carbon copies are made.
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a woven fabric, especially one of light or gauzy texture, originally woven with gold or silver.
a blouse of a delicate tissue.
verb (used with object)
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to remove (a cosmetic or cream) with a facial tissue (often followed byoff ).
Tissue all cosmetics off the face before going to bed.
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to weave, especially with threads of gold and silver.
noun
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a part of an organism consisting of a large number of cells having a similar structure and function
connective tissue
nerve tissue
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a thin piece of soft absorbent paper, usually of two or more layers, used as a disposable handkerchief, towel, etc
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See tissue paper
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an interwoven series
a tissue of lies
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a woven cloth, esp of a light gauzy nature, originally interwoven with threads of gold or silver
verb
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rare to weave into tissue
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to decorate or clothe with tissue or tissue paper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tissue
1325–75; Middle English tissew, variant of tissu < Middle French, Old French, noun use of past participle of tistre to weave < Latin texere
Explanation
Tissue is part of the body of a living thing that is made of similar cells, like the cardiac tissue of your heart. A tissue is also a soft, thin piece of paper used for wiping noses and tear drops. The noun tissue comes from the Old French word tissu, meaning “a ribbon, or belt of woven material.” In fact, as a verb, tissue means "weave fabric strands." Today, we think of tissues as the disposable paper for blowing our noses or packing presents. A different kind of tissue is found in the body — the groups of cells that have the same job, like scar tissue that protects a wound as it heals.
Vocabulary lists containing tissue
Cell Biology - Middle School
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Cell Biology - High School
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Animals (Zoology) - Introductory
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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 internet supplied the connecting tissue because the government had supplied the blank space.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
She returned to skating in 2024 on her own terms, with a new look that included a halo hairstyle and a “smiley” piercing in the tissue connecting her upper lip to her gums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Their approach transforms natural killer cells, a type of immune cell known for rapidly attacking abnormal cells, into a specialized tissue resident form that can move into solid tumors and destroy cancer cells.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
For Levi, the discipline of science—which is “clear and distinct and verifiable at every step”—counters totalitarianism, “a tissue of lies and emptiness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
They unsheathed their fangs, flashing the stark white tissue of their mouths.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The two men spent 80 consecutive hours holed up and writing “on printer sheets, on tissues, on toilet paper,” according to Mr. St. George.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Due to lax collagen between connective tissues, muscles have to work harder to keep joints stable, leading to fatigue and pain, as well as clumsiness.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
"This suggests that calorie restriction has a beneficial effect that is unique to adipose tissues and is likely independent of weight loss," Kim says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
"Having shown that female-biased genes are heavily enriched in inflammatory pathways, we now have another biological rationale for why the immune system can more easily mistakenly attack the body's own tissues in women."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Even now, she could feel the magic pulsing under her skin, each filament insinuating itself between cells, through tissues, filling up her bones.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
What idea is conveyed to your mind by the expressions, "orb'd in a rainbow," "like glories wearing," "thron'd in celestiall sheen," "the tissued clouds down stearing," etc.?
From Six Centuries of English Poetry Tennyson to Chaucer by James Baldwin
Winged momentarily on bits of tissued flame, threaded with blood, the bats had flickered a secret to her.
From The Trespasser by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
“Her Maiestie doth straightly charge and command— “That none under the degree of a Countess wear: Cloth of gold or silver tissued; Silke of coulor purple.
From The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries by Sutherland Menzies
National industry did all in its power to surmount this ignominious condition; she specially turned her attention to the manufacture of silks and of stuffs tissued with gold and silver.
From Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period by P. L. Jacob
The thoughts we think may be lasting, too, Though not inscribed on the azure blue; On the tissued walls of the soul's great dome, May be found those thoughts ne'er more to roam.
From Gleams of Sunshine Optimistic Poems by Joseph Horatio Chant
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.
