cell

/sɛl/

/sɛl/

Other forms: cells

Cell has several different meanings, but all of them are similar. Whether it's in a prison or in your blood (or even in the political landscape), a cell is a small room, space, or unit.

Blood is composed of countless individual cells, as are virtually all of the organs of the body: skin, liver, lungs, brain, etc. The cell is the basic unit of all biology. A cell in a prison is the room in which a prisoner lives. But did you know that a cell can also be a small group of people devoted to a larger political cause? The government's security forces are constantly on the lookout for terrorist "sleeper cells" and would love to get the members of a sleeper cell into a prison cell.

Definitions of cell

1. noun

   (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals
   types:

   recombinant

   a cell or organism in which genetic recombination has occurred

   blastomere

   any cell resulting from cleavage of a fertilized egg

   flagellated cell

   any cell or one-celled organism equipped with a flagellum

   fiber, fibre

   any of several elongated, threadlike cells (especially a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber)

   Kupffer's cell

   specialized cells in the liver that destroy bacteria, foreign proteins, and worn-out blood cells

   beta cell

   a cell that produces insulin in the isles of Langerhans in the pancreas

   somatic cell, vegetative cell

   any of the cells of a plant or animal except the reproductive cells; a cell that does not participate in the production of gametes

   blastema

   a mass of undifferentiated cells from which an organ or body part develops

   fertilized ovum, zygote

   (genetics) the diploid cell resulting from the union of a haploid spermatozoon and ovum (including the organism that develops from that cell)

   parthenote

   a cell resulting from parthenogenesis

   embryonic cell, formative cell

   a cell of an embryo

   acaryote, akaryocyte, akaryote

   a cell without a nucleus (as an erythrocyte)

   germ cell, reproductive cell, sex cell

   a spermatozoon or an ovum; a cell responsible for transmitting DNA to the next generation

   gametocyte

   an immature animal or plant cell that develops into a gamete by meiosis

   polar body

   a small cell containing little cytoplasm that is produced along with the oocyte and later discarded

   Leydig cell, Leydig's cell

   a cell in the testes that secretes the hormone testosterone

   Sertoli cell, Sertoli's cell

   elongated cells found in the seminiferous tubules of the testis; apparently they nourish the spermatids

   plant cell

   a cell that is a structural and functional unit of a plant

   archespore, archesporium

   primitive cell or group of cells from which a mother cell develops

   daughter cell

   a cell formed by the division or budding of another cell

   mother cell

   cell from which another cell of an organism (usually of a different sort) develops

   arthrospore

   one of a string of thick walled vegetative resting cells formed by some algae and fungi

   arthrospore

   a body that resembles a spore but is not an endospore; produced by some bacteria

   choanocyte, collar cell

   any of the flagellated cells in sponges having a collar of cytoplasm around the flagellum; they maintain a flow of water through the body

   skin cell

   any of the cells making up the skin

   epithelial cell

   one of the closely packed cells forming the epithelium

   neoplastic cell

   a cell that is part of tumor

   heterozygote

   (genetics) an organism that has two different forms of a particular gene, resulting in different outcomes in the offspring

   homozygote

   (genetics) an organism having two identical alleles of a particular gene and so breeding true for the particular characteristic

   bone cell

   a cell that is part of a bone

   blastocyte

   an undifferentiated embryonic cell

   ameloblast

   a cell from which tooth enamel develops

   bone-forming cell, osteoblast

   a cell from which bone develops

   erythroblast

   a nucleated cell in bone marrow from which red blood cells develop

   fibroblast

   a cell from which connective tissue develops

   neuroblast

   a cell from which a nerve cell develops

   blood cell, blood corpuscle, corpuscle

   either of two types of cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes) and sometimes including platelets

   phagocyte, scavenger cell

   a cell that engulfs and digests debris and invading microorganisms

   visual cell

   one of the cells of the retina that is sensitive to light

   adipose cell, fat cell

   cells composed of fat

   gamete

   a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes

   oocyte

   a female gametocyte that develops into an ovum after two meiotic divisions

   spermatocyte

   a male gametocyte that develops into four spermatids

   muscle cell, muscle fiber, muscle fibre

   an elongated contractile cell that forms the muscles of the body

   nerve fiber, nerve fibre

   a threadlike extension of a nerve cell

   Schwann cell

   any cell that covers the nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system and forms the myelin sheath

   nerve cell, neuron

   a cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses

   glial cell, neurogliacyte, neuroglial cell

   a cell of the neuroglia

   hybridoma

   a hybrid cell resulting from the fusion of a lymphocyte and a tumor cell; used to culture a specific monoclonal antibody

   labrocyte, mast cell, mastocyte

   a large connective tissue cell that contains histamine and heparin and serotonin which are released in allergic reactions or in response to injury or inflammation

   stem cell

   an undifferentiated cell whose daughter cells may differentiate into other cell types (such as blood cells)

   target cell

   any cell that has a specific receptor for an antigen or antibody or hormone or drug, or is the focus of contact by a virus or phagocyte or nerve fiber etc.

   spore mother cell

   cell from which a spore develops

   type of:

   animate thing, living thing

   a living (or once living) entity
2. noun

   small room in which a monk or nun lives
   synonyms: cubicle

   type of:

   room

   an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
3. noun

   a room where a prisoner is kept
   synonyms: jail cell, prison cell

   types:

   bullpen, detention cell, detention centre

   a large cell where prisoners (people awaiting trial or sentence or refugees or illegal immigrants) are confined together temporarily

   cooler, tank

   a cell for violent prisoners

   dungeon

   a dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined

   guardroom

   a cell in which soldiers who are prisoners are confined

   hold, keep

   a cell in a jail or prison

   sweatbox

   small or narrow cell

   oubliette

   a dungeon with the only entrance or exit being a trap door in the ceiling

   type of:

   room

   an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
4. noun

   any small compartment
   “the cells of a honeycomb”

   type of:

   compartment

   a space into which an area is subdivided
5. noun

   a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement
   synonyms: cadre

   types:

   sleeper cell

   a cell of sleepers

   radical cell, terrorist cell

   a cell of terrorists (usually 3 to 5 members)

   operational cell

   a terrorist cell that performs clandestine activities

   intelligence cell

   a terrorist cell whose members are trained to perform reconnaissance and surveillance

   auxiliary cell

   a terrorist cell responsible for logistics; usually large and less compartmentalized than other terrorist cells

   type of:

   political entity, political unit

   a unit with political responsibilities
6. noun

   a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction
   synonyms: electric cell

   types:

   electrolytic cell

   a cell containing an electrolyte in which an applied voltage causes a reaction to occur that would not occur otherwise (such as the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen)

   fuel cell

   cell that produces electricity by oxidation of fuel (hydrogen and oxygen or zinc and air); often used in electric cars

   photovoltaic cell, solar cell

   a cell that converts solar energy into electrical energy

   secondary cell, storage cell

   a cell that can be recharged

   galvanic cell, primary cell, voltaic cell

   an electric cell that generates an electromotive force by an irreversible conversion of chemical to electrical energy; cannot be recharged

   Leclanche cell

   voltaic cell that produces approximately 1.5 volts

   mercury cell

   a primary cell consisting of a zinc anode and a cathode of mercury oxide and an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide

   standard cell

   a primary cell used as a standard of electromotive force

   wet cell

   a primary voltaic cell having a liquid electrolyte

   type of:

   electrical device

   a device that produces or is powered by electricity
7. noun

   a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver
   synonyms: cell phone, cellphone, cellular phone, cellular telephone, mobile phone

   type of:

   radiophone, radiotelephone, wireless telephone

   a telephone that communicates by radio waves rather than along cables