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View synonyms for vacuole

vacuole

[ vak-yoo-ohl ]

noun

, Biology.
  1. a membrane-bound cavity within a cell, often containing a watery liquid or secretion.
  2. a minute cavity or vesicle in organic tissue.


vacuole

/ ˈvækjʊˌəʊl; ˌvækjʊəˈleɪʃən; -ˌleɪt; ˈvækjʊəlɪt /

noun

  1. biology a fluid-filled cavity in the cytoplasm of a cell
“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


vacuole

/ văkyo̅o̅-ōl′ /

  1. A cavity within the cytoplasm of a cell, surrounded by a single membrane and containing fluid, food, or metabolic waste. Vacuoles are found in the cells of plants, protists, and some primitive animals. In mature plant cells, there is usually one large vacuole which occupies a large part of the cell's volume and is filled with a liquid called cell sap. The cell sap stores food reserves, pigments, defensive toxins, and waste products to be expelled or broken down. In the cells of protists, however, there may be many small specialized vacuoles, such as digestive vacuoles for the absorption of captured food and contractile vacuoles for the expulsion of excess water or wastes.
  2. See more at cell


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Derived Forms

  • ˌvacuˈolar, adjective
  • vacuolation, noun
  • vacuolate, adjective
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Other Words From

  • vac·u·o·lar [vak-yoo-, oh, -ler, vak, -yoo-, uh, -, vak, -y, uh, -ler], adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vacuole1

From French, dating back to 1850–55; vacuum, -ole 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vacuole1

C19: from French, literally: little vacuum, from Latin vacuum
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Example Sentences

Checking the ill animals’ brains revealed swathes of unnatural microscopic holes, or vacuoles.

This is done by pulsation of the vacuole, which ultimately bursts, passing fluid waste to the outside.

These masses of food seem to be inclosed within a little area containing fluid, called a vacuole.

Waste nitrogenous products formed within the cell when work is done are passed out by means of the contractile vacuole.

Spores with two polar-capsules, and without an iodinophilous vacuole in the sporoplasm.

Contractile vacuole absent; the nucleus is spherical and contains many large chromatin granules.

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vacuolationvacuous