vacuole

American  

[vak-yoo-ohl] / ˈvæk yuˌoʊl /

noun

Biology.

1. a membrane-bound cavity within a cell, often containing a watery liquid or secretion.

2. a minute cavity or vesicle in organic tissue.

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vacuole British  

/ ˈvækjʊˌəʊl, ˌvækjʊəˈleɪʃən, -ˌleɪt, ˈvækjʊəlɪt /

noun

1. biology a fluid-filled cavity in the cytoplasm of a cell

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vacuole Scientific  

/ văk′yo̅o̅-ōl′ /

1. A cavity within the cytoplasm of a cell, surrounded by a single membrane and containing fluid, food, or metabolic waste. Vacuoles are found in the cells of plants, protists, and some primitive animals. In mature plant cells, there is usually one large vacuole which occupies a large part of the cell's volume and is filled with a liquid called cell sap. The cell sap stores food reserves, pigments, defensive toxins, and waste products to be expelled or broken down. In the cells of protists, however, there may be many small specialized vacuoles, such as digestive vacuoles for the absorption of captured food and contractile vacuoles for the expulsion of excess water or wastes.

2. See more at cell

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Other Word Forms

• vacuolar adjective
• vacuolate adjective
• vacuolation noun

Etymology

Origin of vacuole

From French, dating back to 1850–55; vacuum, -ole ¹

Example Sentences

The plant's garbage collectors collect waste from cells and transport it to a kind of recycling station in the plant called a vacuole.

From Science Daily

The detachment of the protrusion from the cell membrane results in the formation of a vacuole within the neighboring cell.

From Science Daily

This mechanism is well known in roots of cereals, where cadmium is retained in the vacuoles and bound to thiol-containing molecules.

From Science Daily

With this forceful entry, the pathogens are diverted into vacuoles that lack the ability to break down these infiltrators.

From Science Daily

So Burnetti looked instead for rhodopsin already known to exist in vacuoles.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• bacterium
• egg
• germ
• unit