vesicle

[ ves-i-kuhl ]

/ ˈvɛs ɪ kəl /

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See synonyms for vesicle on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small sac or cyst.

Biology. a small bladderlike cavity, especially one filled with fluid.

Pathology. a circumscribed elevation of the epidermis containing serous fluid; blister.

Geology. a small, usually spherical cavity in a rock or mineral, formed by expansion of a gas or vapor before the enclosing body solidified.

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Origin of vesicle

First recorded in 1570–80, vesicle is from the Latin word vēsīcula little bladder. See vesica, -ule

Words nearby vesicle

vesical, vesicant, vesica piscis, vesicate, vesicatory, vesicle, vesicular, vesicular exanthema, vesicular stomatitis, vesiculate, Vespasian

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

How to use vesicle in a sentence

They’ve done this by creating gas vesicles that, when you ping them with ultrasound, audibly pop—just like those in microbes going for a dive.
Scientists genetically engineered prehistoric proteins to detect diseases|Claire Maldarelli|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science
What makes gas vesicles especially exciting is that, when you ping them with sound waves—in particular, ultrasound, which is too high-pitched for human ears to hear—they ring back with a signal.
Scientists genetically engineered prehistoric proteins to detect diseases|Claire Maldarelli|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science
For several years now, Shapiro’s group has been inserting the DNA for gas vesicles into cells and fine-tuning them.
Scientists genetically engineered prehistoric proteins to detect diseases|Claire Maldarelli|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science
When you’re ready to return to the depths, just pop a few gas vesicles like balloons, and you’ll sink back down.
Scientists genetically engineered prehistoric proteins to detect diseases|Claire Maldarelli|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science

Thanks to that ability, the gene responsible for allowing microbes to create gas vesicles is what researchers call a reporter gene.
Scientists genetically engineered prehistoric proteins to detect diseases|Claire Maldarelli|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science
Now, this vesicle is invariably tinged with a different hue from the rest of the being.
Colouration in Animals and Plants|Alfred Tylor
Do we not witness in the newly formed vaccine vesicle, an increase of the specific force and principle?
Epidemics Examined and Explained: or, Living Germs Proved by Analogy to be a Source of Disease|John Grove
The interest in the terminal vesicle lies in the possibility of its being some rudimentary structure.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
It begins to do so close to the terminal vesicle, which, however, still remains as or more conspicuous than it was before.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
The result of segmentation is a vesicle whose wall is formed of a single layer of cells.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for vesicle

vesicle

/ (ˈvɛsɪkəl) /

noun

pathol

any small sac or cavity, esp one containing serous fluid
a blister

geology a rounded cavity within a rock formed during solidification by expansion of the gases present in the magma

botany a small bladder-like cavity occurring in certain seaweeds and aquatic plants

any small cavity or cell

Derived forms of vesicle

vesicular (vɛˈsɪkjʊlə), adjectivevesicularly, adverb

Word Origin for vesicle

C16: from Latin vēsīcula, diminutive of vesica

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 vesicle

vesicle

[ vĕs′ĭ-kəl ]

A small fluid-filled sac in the body.

A membrane-bound sac in eukaryotic cells that stores or transports the products of metabolism in the cell and is sometimes the site for the breaking down of metabolic wastes. Vesicles bulge out and break off from the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. Vesicles get their energy for mobility from ATP. Lysosomes and peroxisomes are vesicles.

A small cavity formed in volcanic rock by entrapment of a gas bubble during solidification.

Other words from vesicle

vesicular adjective (vĕ-sĭk′yə-lər, və-)

vesicle

Origin of vesicle

Words nearby vesicle

Words related to vesicle

How to use vesicle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vesicle

Derived forms of vesicle

Word Origin for vesicle

Scientific definitions for vesicle

Other words from vesicle