amoeba

/əˈmibə/

/əˈmibə/

Other forms: amoebae; amoebas

An amoeba is a tiny, single-celled organism. You need a powerful microscope to see an amoeba.

An amoeba is distinguished by the fact that it has only one cell, and that the shape of its body is vague and irregular. An amoeba stretches and changes shape as it moves, and reproduces by splitting itself in two. The amoeba was discovered in 1757 and named almost 100 years later, from the Greek root amoibe, or "change."

Definitions of amoeba

1. noun

   naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion
   synonyms: ameba

   types:

   endameba

   any ameba of the genus Endamoeba

   Endamoeba histolytica

   the parasitic ameba that causes amebic dysentery in human beings

   type of:

   rhizopod, rhizopodan

   protozoa characterized by a pseudopod