cell wall

cell wall   n.  The rigid outermost cell layer found in plants and certain algae, bacteria, and fungi but characteristically absent from animal cells.

cell wall

The rigid outer covering of a typical plant cell, composed mainly of cellulose and lying outside the cell membrane. Animal cells do not have cell walls.

Note: It is the cell walls that give plant stems and wood their stiffness.

Main Entry: cell wall
Function: noun
: the usually rigid nonliving permeable wall that surrounds the plasma membrane and encloses and supports the cells of most plants,bacteria, fungi, and algae

cell wall n.
The rigid outermost cell layer found in plants and certain algae, bacteria, and fungi but characteristically absent from animal cells.

cell wall   The outermost layer of cells in plants, bacteria, fungi, and many algae that gives shape to the cell and protects it from infection. In plants, the cell wall is made up mostly of cellulose, determines tissue texture, and often is crucial to cell function. Compare cell membrane.