vacuole
Americannoun
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a membrane-bound cavity within a cell, often containing a watery liquid or secretion.
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a minute cavity or vesicle in organic tissue.
noun
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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.
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See more at cell
Other Word Forms
- vacuolar adjective
- vacuolate adjective
- vacuolation noun
Etymology
Origin of vacuole
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.
The detachment of the protrusion from the cell membrane results in the formation of a vacuole within the neighboring cell.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2024
A vacuole is a structure reserved for storage and digestion within a cell.
From Science Daily • Dec. 1, 2023
Increasing the acidity inside the vacuole may decrease it outside the vacuole, causing enzymes there to work faster and wear out sooner, which may also help explain the higher death rate among these altered cells.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 18, 2023
That’s because the organic acids are transported out of the vacuole and broken down to release CO2, which enters the Calvin cycle.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Within its bioplasm a clear space or vacuole may often be distinguished.
From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879 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.
