cellular

1 of 2

adjective

cel·​lu·​lar ˈsel-yə-lər 

1

a

: of, relating to, or consisting of cells

a cellular structure

cellular growth

b

: cell-mediated

cellular immunity

2

: containing cavities : having a porous texture

cellular rocks

3

: of, relating to, or being a radiotelephone system in which a geographical area (such as a city) is divided into small sections each served by a transmitter of limited range

cellular phones

cellularity

ˌsel-yə-ˈler-ə-tē 

-ˈla-rə-

noun

cellular

2 of 2

noun

: cell phone

Examples of cellular in a Sentence

Adjective

Researchers are observing the course of the disease at the cellular level.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Bigmouth Buffalo Doesn’t Age Like The Rest Of Us In most animals, the passing decades bring familiar signs of wear, like weakened immune systems, elevated stress and cellular decay. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025

The company says the iPad can run for about 10 hours over Wi-Fi or about 9 hours over cellular. —PC Magazine, 29 Mar. 2025

Noun

In these cases, fifth-generation (5G) cellular, which promises median speeds in the hundreds of megabits per second and latencies in single-digit milliseconds, will potentially reduce the latency to as little as tens of milliseconds. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2019

Big weather events can wipe out homes, phone lines and powerlines, making the usual cellular or Wi-Fi networks impossible to use. —Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

New Latin cellularis, from cellula living cell, from Latin, diminutive of cella small room

First Known Use

Adjective

1716, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1985, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cellular

• cellular foam
• cellular respiration
• cellular suicide
• cellular telephone

Rhymes for cellular

• acellular
• subcellular
• extracellular
• intercellular
• intracellular
• multicellular
• unicellular
• hepatocellular

Kids Definition

cellular

adjective

cel·​lu·​lar

ˈsel-yə-lər

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of cells

2

: of, relating to, or being a radiotelephone system in which a geographical area (as a city) is divided into small sections each served by a transmitter of limited range

cellular phones

Medical Definition

cellular

adjective

cel·​lu·​lar ˈsel-yə-lər 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of cells

2

: cell-mediated

cellular immunity

cellularity

ˌsel-yə-ˈlar-ət-ē 

noun

plural cellularities