cell
/sel/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- a room where a prisoner is kept
- small room in which a monk or nun lives
- a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver
- a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement
- a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction
- (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
- any small compartment
- the cells of a honeycomb