unicellular
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- unicellularity noun
Etymology
Origin of unicellular
Explanation
In biology, the adjective unicellular describes an organism that has only one single cell, like most kinds of bacteria. You're most likely to see the word unicellular in a biology textbook, where it is used to talk about microscopic, single-celled organisms. Many types of fungi are unicellular, as well as amoebas, bacteria, and other tiny creatures and plants. The word unicellular combines the Latin prefix meaning "one," uni, and the word cellular, which has the root word cella, "small room."
Vocabulary lists containing unicellular
Cell Biology - Middle School
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"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Cell Biology - High School
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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.
Galdieria extract blue comes from a unicellular red algae, which is an organism that thrives in extreme marine and terrestrial environments, according to the National Institutes of Health.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025
Yeast are unicellular fungi that ferment sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
From Salon • Sep. 4, 2024
The vast unicellular world gets a single green blob labeled “microbe.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2023
The study highlights the importance of observing environmental samples for the rediscovery of unicellular organisms such as R. marina that lack genetic data.
From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2023
All research shows that unicellular fungi, algæ, infusoria, and so forth, in dividing, transmit specific characters so strongly and in detail so minute that their descendants, a million generations off, resemble them in every respect.
From The Biological Problem of To-day Preformation Or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development by Hertwig, Oscar
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.
