invaginate

[ verb in-vaj-uh-neyt; adjective in-vaj-uh-nit, -neyt ]

verb (used with object)

, in·vag·i·nat·ed, in·vag·i·nat·ing.

1. to insert or receive, as into a sheath; sheathe.
2. to fold or draw (a tubular organ) back within itself; intussuscept.

verb (used without object)

, in·vag·i·nat·ed, in·vag·i·nat·ing.

1. to become invaginated; undergo invagination.
2. to form a pocket by turning in.

adjective

1. folded or turned back upon itself.
2. sheathed.

invaginate

verb

1. pathol to push one section of (a tubular organ or part) back into itself so that it becomes ensheathed; intussuscept
2. intr (of the outer layer of an organism or part) to undergo invagination

adjective

1. (of an organ or part) folded back upon itself

Derived Forms

• inˈvaginable, adjective

Other Words From

• unin·vagi·nated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of invaginate¹

1650–60; < Medieval Latin invāgīnātus, past participle of invāgīnāre to sheathe. See in- ², vaginate

Word History and Origins

Origin of invaginate¹

C19: from Medieval Latin invāgīnāre, from Latin in- ² + vāgīna sheath

Example Sentences

The oligomers cause the nuclei to fold in on themselves, or "invaginate," disrupting the genetic material contained within.

From Science Daily

"What we think starts to happen on the pathway to develop a camera-type eye is that simple layer of photoreceptor cells starts to invaginate. Sort of forming a little cup, a little dimple. And together with the pigment cells, it enhances directionality."

From Salon

In the delaminate method the enteric space is at first without a blastopore, and sometimes it never acquires this opening, but a blastopore is frequently formed, and the two-layered gastrula stage is reached, though by a very different route from that taken in the formation of the invaginate gastrula.

From Project Gutenberg

Invaginate: when a tubular or vesicular part is turned inward or retracted within the body wall.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a gastrula, formed mainly by overgrowth of the epiblast, is called an epibolic gastrula, as distinguished from the invaginate gastrula of amphioxus.

From Project Gutenberg