eukaryotic

[ yoo-kar-ee-ot-ik ]

adjective

, Biology.

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a eukaryote, an organism whose basic structural unit is a cell containing specialized organelles and a membrane-bound nucleus:

   Some scientists believe that the greatest transition of life in the history of Earth is the evolution of eukaryotic cellular life forms from more primitive prokaryotes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eukaryotic¹

First recorded in 1955–60; eukaryot(e) ( def ) + -ic ( def )

Example Sentences

Any origin story for the eukaryotic nucleus needs to explain several of its features.

From Quanta Magazine

He hypothesized that the eukaryotic enzyme originated as a contribution from some ancient poxvirus.

From Quanta Magazine

For these giant viruses, the compartments they make are “viral factories which are as big as a eukaryotic nucleus,” said Patrick Forterre, an evolutionary biologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

From Quanta Magazine

In the case of that virus, “this nucleus-like structure is not membrane-based,” Takemura said, which makes it distinct from many viral factories and eukaryotic nuclei.

From Quanta Magazine

There were just too many differences between bacterial and eukaryotic genomes, he felt, like the fact that eukaryotes have linear chromosomes while bacteria tend to have circular ones.

From Quanta Magazine