zooid

American  

[zoh-oid] / ˈzoʊ ɔɪd /

noun

1. any organic body or cell capable of spontaneous movement and of an existence more or less apart from or independent of the parent organism.

2. any animal organism or individual capable of separate existence, and produced by fission, gemmation, or some method other than direct sexual reproduction.

3. any one of the recognizably distinct individuals or elements of a compound or colonial animallike organism, whether or not detached or detachable.

---

adjective

1. Also zooidal. pertaining to, resembling, or of the nature of an animal.

zooid British  

/ ˈzəʊɔɪd /

noun

1. any independent animal body, such as an individual of a coelenterate colony

2. a motile cell or body, such as a gamete, produced by an organism

---

Other Word Forms

• zooidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of zooid

First recorded in 1850–55; zo- + -oid

Example Sentences

In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah

Each zooid has six tentacles; the stomodaeum is elongate, but the sulcus and sulculus are very feebly represented.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

In Autolytus there is, to begin with, a conversion of the posterior half of the body to form a sexual zooid.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

The structure of the zooid of Heliopora, however, is that of a typical Alcyonarian, and the septa have only a resemblance to, but no real homology with, the similarly named structures in madreporarian corals.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

In division a vertical constriction divides a zooid into two equal or unequal parts, and the several parts of the two corals thus produced are severally derived from the corresponding parts of the dividing corallum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various