tissue

[ tish-oo or, especially British, tis-yoo ]

See synonyms for: tissue tissued on Thesaurus.com

noun

Biology. an aggregate of similar cells and cell products forming a definite kind of structural material with a specific function, in a multicellular organism.
tissue paper.

any of several kinds of soft gauzy papers used for various purposes: cleansing tissue; toilet tissue.
an interwoven or interconnected series or mass: a tissue of falsehoods.
a piece of thin writing paper on which carbon copies are made.
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),tis·sued, tis·su·ing.

to remove (a cosmetic or cream) with a facial tissue (often followed by off): Tissue all cosmetics off the face before going to bed.
to weave, especially with threads of gold and silver.

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

Other words from tissue

tis·su·al, adjective
tis·su·ey, adjective
in·ter·tis·sued, adjective
un·tis·sued, adjective

Words Nearby tissue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tissue in a sentence

That means there’s a risk of T-cells targeting the wrong cells and causing serious damage to healthy tissue.
Scientists Used Protein Switches to Turn T-Cells Into Cancer-Fighting Guided Missiles | Edd Gent | August 24, 2020 | Singularity Hub
The tissue, which carries genes for color spliced in by scientists at Australia’s scientific research agency, CSIRO, is only the first step, but it’s a promising one.
Scientists Gene-Hack Cotton Plants to Make Them Every Color of the Rainbow | Jason Dorrier | August 11, 2020 | Singularity Hub
As light enters our eyes, it first heads through a tough outer tissue called the cornea.
Explainer: How our eyes make sense of light | Tina Hesman Saey | July 16, 2020 | Science News For Students
Certain environments can provide the right conditions to preserve soft tissues, she says.
Fossil discoveries suggest the earliest dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs | Jack J. Lee | June 24, 2020 | Science News
Building new tissue isn’t the only thing the technology can do.
Scientists 3D Printed Ears Inside Living Mice Using Light | Shelly Fan | June 9, 2020 | Singularity Hub

Creating PGCs from skin tissue, on the other hand, seems like a walk in the park compared to egg freezing.
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women | Samantha Allen | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
She dabbed them with a tissue and continued without ceremony.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass | Susannah George | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Among them were some horrifying images of severe damage to nasal tissue caused by a child lodging a button battery in her nose.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They can corrode through whatever human tissue they contact if swallowed or stuck into an orifice, sometimes in a matter of hours.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Must both ovarian and testicular tissue be present for a person to be “counted”?
Intersexuality and God Through the Ages | Candida Moss | November 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
Even slight familiarity with the microscopic structure of vegetable tissue will prevent the chagrin of such errors.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
They robed her in white with a thin lining-edge of crimson, and threw over her shining hair a veil of tissue.
The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
There are acids that completely dissolve bone tissue and even clothing but circumstances usually reveal these crimes.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
Upon such a tissue of conjectural absurdities the wonderful opinion of the immortality of the soul is built.
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean Meslier

British Dictionary definitions for tissue

tissue

/ (ˈtɪʃuː, ˈtɪsjuː) /

noun

a part of an organism consisting of a large number of cells having a similar structure and function: connective tissue; nerve tissue
a thin piece of soft absorbent paper, usually of two or more layers, used as a disposable handkerchief, towel, etc

See tissue paper
an interwoven series: a tissue of lies
a woven cloth, esp of a light gauzy nature, originally interwoven with threads of gold or silver

verb(tr)

rare to weave into tissue
to decorate or clothe with tissue or tissue paper

Origin of tissue

C14: from Old French tissu woven cloth, from tistre to weave, from Latin texere

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

Scientific definitions for tissue

tissue

[ tĭsh′ōō ]

A large mass of similar cells that make up a part of an organism and perform a specific function. The internal organs and connective structures (including bone and cartilage) of vertebrates, and cambium, xylem, and phloem in plants are made up of different types of tissue.

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