Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small room where a prisoner is confined: A cell is a locked room in a prison or police station.
   • A small, simple room for a monk or nun: In a monastery or convent, a cell is a monk's or nun's private living quarters.
   • The basic structural and functional unit of a living organism: In biology, a cell is the smallest unit of life, capable of performing all life processes.
   • A device that produces electricity through chemical reactions: An electrical cell (like a battery cell) converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
   • A small compartment or unit: A cell can be any small, enclosed space, such as one section of a honeycomb.
   • A small, local unit of a larger organization: In politics or activism, a cell is a small, often secretive, group that is part of a larger movement.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The prisoner was placed in a solitary cell.
  • The monk returned to his cell for prayer and meditation.
  • Every plant and animal is composed of one or more cells.
  • This remote control needs a new battery cell.
  • The structure of the honeycomb is made up of hexagonal cells.
  • The terrorist organization was composed of independent cells.

Advanced Usage

• "Cell division": The process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells.
  • Mitosis is a type of cell division.
• "Cell membrane": The semipermeable membrane surrounding the cytoplasm of a cell.
  • The cell membrane controls the movement of substances in and out of the cell.
• "To be in one's cell": To be confined in a prison room.
  • The inmate spent 23 hours a day in his cell.

Variants and Related Words

• Cellular (adj): Relating to or consisting of cells; or relating to a mobile phone network.
  • Cellular biology studies the structure and function of cells.
  • The cellular network coverage is excellent here.
• Cellphone (n): A portable telephone that operates using a network of radio cells.
  • She answered her cellphone. (Note: This is a compound word listed separately as a variant).

Synonyms

• Chamber: A room, especially a private one (for a room).
• Compartment: A separate section or part of something.
• Unit: A single, complete thing that is part of a larger system.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: "Cell" as a noun does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The following relates to the verb form of related words.) - Cell off: (Rare, specialized) To divide into cells or compartments. - The tissue began to cell off during development.

Related Idioms

• Prison cell: The standard term for a jail room.
  • He spent ten years in a prison cell.
• The building blocks of life: A metaphor for cells.
  • Cells are often called the building blocks of life.

Noun

1. a room where a prisoner is kept
2. small room in which a monk or nun lives
3. a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver
4. a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement
5. a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction
6. (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
7. any small compartment
   • the cells of a honeycomb