cyst

[ sist ]
See synonyms for cyst on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Pathology. a closed, bladderlike sac formed in animal tissues, containing fluid or semifluid matter.

  2. a bladder, sac, or vesicle.

  1. Botany, Mycology.

    • a sporelike cell with a resistant, protective wall.

    • a cell or cavity enclosing reproductive bodies.

  2. Zoology.

    • a sac, usually spherical, surrounding an animal that has passed into a dormant condition.

    • such a sac plus the contained animal.

    • a capsule or resistant covering.

Origin of cyst

1
First recorded in 1705–15; from New Latin cystis, from Greek kýstis “bag, pouch, bladder”; akin to kŷma cyma

Words Nearby cyst

Other definitions for cyst- (2 of 3)

cyst-

  1. variant of cysto-, before a vowel: cystectomy.

Other definitions for -cyst (3 of 3)

-cyst

  1. variant of cysto-, as final element in a compound word: statocyst.

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

How to use cyst in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cyst (1 of 2)

cyst

/ (sɪst) /


noun
  1. pathol any abnormal membranous sac or blisterlike pouch containing fluid or semisolid material

  2. anatomy any normal sac or vesicle in the body

  1. a thick-walled protective membrane enclosing a cell, larva, or organism

Origin of cyst

1
C18: from New Latin cystis, from Greek kustis pouch, bag, bladder

British Dictionary definitions for -cyst (2 of 2)

-cyst

n combining form
  1. indicating a bladder or sac: otocyst

Origin of -cyst

2
from Greek kustis bladder

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 cyst

cyst

[ sĭst ]


  1. An abnormal membranous sac in the body, containing a gaseous, liquid, or semisolid substance.

  2. A small, capsulelike form of certain organisms that develops in response to adverse or extreme conditions. Under adverse conditions, for instance, dinoflagellates form nonmotile resting cysts that fall to the ocean or lake bottom and can remain there for years before reviving. Certain invertebrates, such as the water bear (phylum Tardigrada), also develop cysts.

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

Cultural definitions for cyst

cyst

[ (sist) ]


An abnormal saclike structure that develops in the body and is filled with fluid or semisolid material.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.