adjective
-
(of epithelium) consisting of one or more layers of flat platelike cells
-
covered with, formed of, or resembling scales
Other Word Forms
- squamosely adverb
- squamoseness noun
- squamously adverb
- squamousness noun
Etymology
Origin of squamous
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin squāmōsus “covered with scales, scaly”; see squama, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Non-melanoma cancers like basal and squamous cell are more common but usually less likely to spread or be fatal, he said.
From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025
“It turned out that I have P16 squamous carcinoma at the base of my tongue.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
Another kind of skin cancer can develop in squamous cells, which lie just above them.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2024
Basal cell carcinomas have relatively little lineage plasticity and are far less aggressive than squamous cell carcinomas.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024
Doctors found squamous cell cancer in a small mole they removed from Ma’s face, a condition caused by too much exposure to the sun.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
