unicellular

[ yoo-nuh-sel-yuh-ler ]

/ ˌyu nəˈsɛl yə lər /

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adjective

having or consisting of a single cell.

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Origin of unicellular

First recorded in 1855–60; uni- + cellular

OTHER WORDS FROM unicellular

u·ni·cel·lu·lar·i·ty, noun

Words nearby unicellular

unibrow, unicameral, unicameral bone cyst, unicameral cyst, UNICEF, unicellular, unicellular gland, unicellulate, Unicode, unicolor, unicolour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use unicellular in a sentence

The first living organisms formed their hierarchies thus: individual unicellular, or plastide; group of plastides or meride.
The Natural Philosophy of Love|Remy de Gourmont
The multicellular organism was a colony of unicellular organisms, and its life was a sum of the lives of its constituent elements.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
They appertain to cells not yet differentiated, to the unicellular organisms which occupy the first stages of life.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, January 1900|Various
Weismann deduces from this a radical distinction between the unicellular and the multicellular organisms.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel

In the most primitive kinds of the unicellular protists we find the phenomena of death and regeneration in the simplest form.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for unicellular

unicellular

/ (ˌjuːnɪˈsɛljʊlə) /

adjective

(of organisms, such as protozoans and certain algae) consisting of a single cell

Derived forms of unicellular

unicellularity, noun

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

Medical definitions for unicellular

unicellular

[ yōō′nĭ-sĕl′yə-lər ]

adj.

Having or consisting of a single cell, as the protozoans; one-celled.

Other words from unicellular

u′ni•cel′lu•lar′i•ty (-lăr′ĭ-tē) n.

Scientific definitions for unicellular

unicellular

[ yōō′nĭ-sĕl′yə-lər ]

Having or consisting of a single cell. Compare multicellular.