n.
- A narrow confining room, as in a prison or convent.
- A small enclosed cavity or space, such as a compartment in a honeycomb or within a plant ovary or an area bordered by veins in an insect's wing.
- Biology. The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semipermeable cell membrane.
- Architecture. See web (sense 11).
- The smallest organizational unit of a centralized group or movement, especially of a political party of Leninist structure.
- Electricity.
- A single unit for electrolysis or conversion of chemical into electric energy, usually consisting of a container with electrodes and an electrolyte; a battery. Also called electrochemical cell.
- A single unit that converts radiant energy into electric energy: a solar cell.
- A fuel cell.
- Computer Science. A basic unit of storage in a computer memory that can hold one unit of information, such as a character or word.
- A geographic area or zone surrounding a transmitter in a cellular telephone system.
- A storm cell.
- A small humble abode, such as a hermit's cave or hut.
- A small religious house dependent on a larger one, such as a priory within an abbey.
- A box or other unit on a spreadsheet or similar array at the intersection of a column and a row.
v., celled, cell·ing, cells. v.tr.
To store in a honeycomb.
v.intr.
To live in or share a prison cell.
[Middle English celle, from Old English cell and from Old French, both from Latin cella, chamber.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
