a·moe·ba
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Audio Help [uh-mee-buh] Pronunciation Key | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
amoeba
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| a·moe·ba also a·me·ba
Audio Help (ə-mē'bə) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. a·moe·bas also a·me·bas or a·moe·bae also a·me·bae (-bē) Any of various one-celled aquatic or parasitic protozoans of the genus Amoeba or related genera, having no definite form and consisting of a mass of protoplasm containing one or more nuclei surrounded by a flexible outer membrane. It moves by means of pseudopods. [New Latin, genus name, from Greek amoibē, change, from ameibein, to change; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.] a·moe'bic (-bĭk) adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
amoeba
1855, from Mod.L. genus name (1841), from Gk. amoibe "change," from PIE *e-meigw-, extended form of base *mei- "to change, go, move" (see mutable). So called for its constantly changing shape.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| amoeba | |
noun | |
| naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion [syn: ameba] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
| amoeba
Audio Help (ə-mē'bə) Pronunciation Key
Plural amoebas or amoebae (ə-mē'bē) Any of various one-celled aquatic or parasitic protozoans of the genus Amoeba or related genera, having no definite form and consisting of a mass of protoplasm containing one or more nuclei surrounded by a flexible outer membrane. Amoebas move by means of pseudopods. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
amoeba [(uh-mee-buh)]
An animal composed of only one cell that has no fixed shape. It is the best known of the single-celled animals, or protozoa.
Note: The term amoeba is sometimes used to refer to something with an indefinite, changeable shape.
[Chapter:] Life Sciences
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Amoeba
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[The Jargon File]
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| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
Amoeba
A*m[oe]"ba\, n.; pl. L. Am[oe]b[ae]; E. Am[oe]bas. [NL., fr. Gr. ? change.] (Zo["o]l.) A rhizopod. common in fresh water, capable of undergoing many changes of form at will. See Rhizopoda.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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