sessile

adjective

ses·​sile ˈse-ˌsī(-ə)l  -səl 

1

: attached directly by the base : not raised upon a stalk or peduncle

a sessile leaf

sessile bubbles

2

: permanently attached or established : not free to move about

sessile sponges and coral polyps

Examples of sessile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that are sessile and look like a rubbery bump or flat red patch. —James Myhre & Dennis Sifris, Md, Verywell Health, 3 Sep. 2024

This discovery of the cassiosomes takes us one step closer to understanding how these sessile creatures manage to capture prey. —Cheryl Ames, National Geographic, 13 Feb. 2020

To assemble the data set, research teams looked at about 20 trees from each of the dozen tree species, which included maritime pine, Norway spruce, sessile oak, stone pine, and European beech. —Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 27 Jan. 2020

Jellyfish begin their lives much like their cousins, as sessile polyps anchored to the seafloor, scrounging for food in the passing currents. —Quanta Magazine, 8 Jan. 2019

Well, the sessile oak sapling—from Belleau, the French site of a World War I battle—is no longer on the White House lawn. —David Meyer, Fortune, 30 Apr. 2018

Another factor, Monterro-Serra notes, is that these sessile species are clonal. —National Geographic, 31 Mar. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Latin sessilis of or fit for sitting, low, dwarf (of plants), from sessus, past participle of sedēre

First Known Use

circa 1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sessile

adjective

ses·​sile ˈses-ˌīl 

-əl

1

: attached directly by the base and not raised upon a stalk

a sessile leaf

2

: permanently attached and not free to move about : sedentary

sessile coral polyps

Medical Definition

sessile

adjective

ses·​sile ˈses-īl  -əl 

1

: attached directly by a broad base : not pedunculated

a sessile tumor

2

: firmly attached (as to a cell) : not free to move about

sessile antibodies