ameba

or a·moe·ba

[ uh-mee-buh ]
See synonyms for ameba on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural a·me·bas, a·me·bae [uh-mee-bee]. /əˈmi bi/.
  1. any of numerous freshwater, marine, or parasitic one-celled protozoa of the order Amoebida, characterized by a granular nucleus surrounded by a jellylike mass of cytoplasm that forms temporary extensions, or pseudopodia, by which the organism moves, engulfs food particles, and forms food vacuoles.

  2. a protozoan of the genus Amoeba, inhabiting bottom vegetation of freshwater ponds and streams: used widely in laboratory studies.

Origin of ameba

1
From New Latin amoeba, from Greek amoibḗ “change, alternation,”, akin to ameíbein “to exchange”

Other words from ameba

  • a·me·ba·like, adjective

Words Nearby ameba

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ameba in a sentence

  • Those are some dried specimens of ameba that I wish to study under a microscope.

  • ameba are microorganisms of the simplest structure—a protoplasm which is constantly changing in shape.

  • The flood of dazzling light reaching out from the Interplanetarian snapped off and the little green ameba things were gone.

    Empire | Clifford Donald Simak
  • Some are simple like the ameba, others are very complex in structure.

    Being Well-Born | Michael F. Guyer
  • The ameba solves this difficulty by dividing to form two amebæ.

    Being Well-Born | Michael F. Guyer

British Dictionary definitions for ameba

ameba

/ (əˈmiːbə) /


nounplural -bae (-biː) or -bas
  1. the usual US spelling of amoeba

Derived forms of ameba

  • amebic, adjective

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 ameba

ameba

[ ə-mē ]


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.