# cell

Pronunciation: say "SEL" /sɛl/

## Noun

1. The basic unit of a living organism, made of protoplasm enclosed by a membrane and typically able to synthesize proteins and copy itself.
   - Simple: The smallest building block of a living thing, usually able to make proteins and copy itself.
   - _Under the microscope, each cell appeared as a distinct, membrane-bound unit._
   - _The body repairs damaged tissue by producing new cells._
2. A cellular telephone, especially a small handheld one carried for personal use. *(colloquial, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, US)*
   - Simple: A mobile phone you can carry and use almost anywhere.
   - _He checked his cell for messages between meetings._
   - _Both of their cells rang at the same time._
3. A room in a prison or jail used to confine one or more inmates.
   - Simple: A small locked room in a prison where a prisoner is kept.
   - _She spent three years in a cramped prison cell._
   - _The cells along the corridor were all occupied._
4. A device that produces an electric current from a chemical reaction, used singly or combined with others as the basic unit of a battery.
   - Simple: A small device that makes electricity from chemicals, used alone or joined with others to make a battery.
   - _Each cell in the pack delivers about 1.5 volts._
   - _Engineers tested how long the cells held their charge._
5. The unit in a spreadsheet or statistical table where a row and a column intersect.
   - Simple: A box in a table or spreadsheet where a row and a column meet.
   - _Enter the formula in the top-left cell of the table._
   - _The spreadsheet flagged several cells containing errors._
6. A distinct section or compartment forming part of a larger structure.
   - Simple: One section or small space inside a bigger structure.
   - _Each cell of the egg carton holds a single egg._
   - _The bridge deck is built from repeating box cells._
7. A small group of people forming part of a larger organization, frequently a clandestine or outlawed one.
   - Simple: A small group of people who are part of a larger, often secret, organization.
   - _Each resistance cell operated independently to avoid detection._
   - _Investigators traced funding to several sleeper cells abroad._
8. A region of radio reception served by one transmitter and forming part of a larger radio network.
   - Simple: An area covered by one radio transmitter that is part of a bigger network.
   - _As the train moved, the signal passed from one cell to the next._
   - _Densely populated areas need smaller cells to handle the traffic._
10. A small, plain room or dwelling where a monk, nun or hermit lives alone.
   - Simple: A small simple room where a monk, a nun or a person living alone for religious reasons lives.
   - _The abbot visited each monk in his cell._
   - _The convent's cells were sparsely furnished._
11. A single convective unit of rising and sinking air within a shower or thunderstorm, or a storm made up of one such unit.
   - Simple: One part of a storm where warm air rises and cool air sinks, or a storm made of one such part.
   - _Radar showed an isolated cell intensifying over the plains._
   - _Several cells merged into a larger squall line by evening._
13. A small natural cavity or enclosed space inside the body or tissues of an animal or plant, each with its own particular function.
   - Simple: Any of the small chambers in a plant or animal tissue that does a particular job.
   - _The fruit's central cell contained the seeds._
   - _Each anther has two cells, and the pollen grains form inside them._
9. A device that converts sunlight or any other light into electricity, usually one of many wired together in a solar panel.
   - Simple: A device that makes electricity from sunlight or other light. Solar panels are made of many of them.
   - _A single cracked cell can drag down the output of an entire solar panel._
   - _Engineers are testing a thin, flexible cell that turns ordinary indoor lighting into enough power for small sensors._

## Verb

12. To place or shut a person inside a cell, especially a prison cell.
   - Simple: To put someone into a small locked room or prison cell.
   - _Officers celled the suspect overnight before the morning hearing._
   - _The warden decided to cell the two rivals on separate floors._

## Noun

14. Any of the supposed compartments of the brain, once believed to be the seat of particular mental powers, knowledge, or memories. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: One of the parts of the brain that people once believed held thoughts, memories, or skills.
15. Any small dwelling, especially a remote and solitary one; a secluded nook or den. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A small home, especially one away from others, or a quiet, sheltered nook or den.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An area of an insect's wing between veins, such as the large central discal cell of a butterfly or moth.
- (noun) The area of vaulting between the ribs of a vaulted roof or ceiling.
- (noun) A short packet of fixed length used to carry data, as in asynchronous transfer mode networking.
- (noun) The smallest unit of a cellular automaton, which can change state and follows a defined behavior.
- (noun) In FreeCell-type games, an open space that can temporarily hold a single card.
- (noun) The enclosed inner chamber of a classical temple, housing the cult image of the deity; a cella.
- (noun) Any of the three-dimensional faces (polyhedra) that form part of the boundary of a higher-dimensional polytope.
- (noun) A small monastery or convent that depends on and is governed by a larger religious establishment.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–15** — The root is Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ("to cover"), which lies behind Latin cella ("chamber, small room, compartment"). That word became Old English cell and Middle English celle, with later support from Old French forms like cel and cele. Cella and hall are doublets.
**Meaning 2** — Cellular phone was clipped to cell phone, and that was shortened again to cell; cellular phone itself is cellular plus phone.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cell (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).