mother cell

noun

: a cell that gives rise to other cells usually of a different sort

Examples of mother cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Print Cell division, or the process of how daughter cells emerge from a mother cell, is fundamental to biology. Somin Lee, The Conversation, 20 July 2023 The sticky cells in each of these snowflakes were genetically identical to each other---each cell had budded off from a mother cell, but had stuck around rather than setting off on its own. Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mother cell was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near mother cell

Cite this Entry

“Mother cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother%20cell. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

mother cell

noun
: a cell that gives rise to other cells usually of a different sort
a sperm mother cell
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!