cell

SEL/sɛl/

23 meanings of cell

1
unit of lifenouncountable
The smallest building block of a living thing, usually able to make proteins and copy itself.
A skin cell is far too small to see without a microscope.
Plant cells have a stiff outer wall that animal cells lack.
Note
2
mobile phonenouncolloquialAustraliaNew ZealandPhilippinesUScountable
A mobile phone you can carry and use almost anywhere.
Call me on my cell when you get there.
She left her cell at home by accident.
UsagePeople say call me on my cell. In formal writing, say cell phone.
Similarphone, mobile, cellphone
3
prison roomnouncountable
A small locked room in a prison where a prisoner is kept.
The guard locked the prisoner in his cell for the night.
Two inmates shared a cramped cell.
4
batterynouncountable
A small device that makes electricity from chemicals, used alone or joined with others to make a battery.
Like a small tank that holds energy until something needs it.
This flashlight needs one more cell to work.
He replaced the dead cell in the remote.
UsageMost people just say battery for this.
Note
5
spreadsheet boxnouncountable
A box in a table or spreadsheet where a row and a column meet.
Like one square on a checkerboard, found by its row and column.
Type the total into the highlighted cell.
She copied the number from one cell to another.
UsageYou type something in a cell.
6
small sectionnouncountable
One section or small space inside a bigger structure.
Bees store honey in each cell of the honeycomb.
Each cell of the wine rack holds a single bottle.
Similarcompartment, section
7
secret groupnouncountable
A small group of people who are part of a larger, often secret, organization.
The spy belonged to a small cell that reported to headquarters.
Police uncovered a terrorist cell operating in the city.
UsageOften in terrorist cell or sleeper cell.
Similarunit, group, cadre, ring
8
signal areanouncountable
An area covered by one radio transmitter that is part of a bigger network.
Like one tile of coverage in a much larger map of signal areas.
Your phone switches towers when you leave one cell and enter another.
Each cell covers only a few miles.
UsageYou hear it most in cell tower.
Note
9
nouncountable
A device that makes electricity from sunlight or other light. Solar panels are made of many of them.
The small cell above the screen lets this calculator work without a battery.
One cell on our roof panel is broken, so the panel makes less power on sunny days.
Similarphotocell
Note

Less common meanings

10
monk's roomnouncountable
A small simple room where a monk, a nun or a person living alone for religious reasons lives.
The monk returned to his cell to pray.
Each nun slept in a plain, narrow cell.
Note
11
stormnouncountable
One part of a storm where warm air rises and cool air sinks, or a storm made of one such part.
Like a small bubble of stormy weather that pops up before the big storm.
A single storm cell dumped rain on the town for an hour.
Forecasters watched the cell move slowly east.
UsagePeople often say storm cell.
Similarstorm, thunderstorm
Note
12
lock upverbtransitive
To put someone into a small locked room or prison cell.
Like locking a pet inside a small cage.
The guards celled the new prisoner with a quiet old man.
They cell two inmates together when the jail is full.
Similarjail, imprison, confine, incarcerate
Oppositerelease, free
Note
13
nouncountable
Any of the small chambers in a plant or animal tissue that does a particular job.
Each cell in the seed pod held a single seed.
A lily's seed box has three cells, with seeds packed into each one.
Similarchamber
Note
14
nounobsolete
One of the parts of the brain that people once believed held thoughts, memories, or skills.
From cell to cell of his brain crept the one thought; and the wild desire to live, most terrible of all man's appetites, quickened into force each trembling nerve and fibre.
1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian GrayHere, cell means one of the parts of the brain once thought to hold thoughts.
Note
15
nounobsolete
A small home, especially one away from others, or a quiet, sheltered nook or den.
Note
16
noun
A space on an insect's wing between its veins.
17
noun
A section of an arched roof or ceiling between its supporting ribs.
18
noun
A small, fixed-size block of data sent across a network.
19
noun
The smallest unit in a grid-based computer model (a cellular automaton) that switches between states by following simple rules.
20
noun
An open space in a card game where you can put one card to set it aside.
21
noun
The closed inner room of an ancient temple, where a god's statue was kept.
22
noun
One of the solid, three-dimensional faces that make up a shape in higher dimensions.
23
noun
A small religious house for monks or nuns, run by a larger one.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3–15

It comes from Latin cella, meaning a small room, and was later supported by Old French words for it.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Cell comes from Latin cella. en.wiktionary.org
Latin cella means a small room. en.wiktionary.org
Old French words later reinforced the English word. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 2

It is a short form of "cell phone," which itself is short for "cellular phone."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Cell is a short form of cell phone. en.wiktionary.org
Cell phone is short for cellular phone. en.wiktionary.org