ameba, amebic, ameboid
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ame·ba
less common spellings of amoeba, amoebic, amoeboid
: any of a large genus (Amoeba) of naked rhizopod protozoans with lobed and never anastomosing pseudopodia, without permanent organelles or supporting structures, and of wide distribution in fresh and salt water and moist terrestrial environments
broadly
: a naked rhizopod or other amoeboid protozoan
amoe·boid
ə-ˈmē-ˌbȯid 
variants
or less commonly ameboid
: resembling an amoeba specifically in moving or changing in shape by means of protoplasmic flow
Examples of ameba in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Sep. 2021
Other microorganisms travel using amoeboid movement, driven by flexing of their cellular skeletons, built from the protein actin.
—Tom Siegfried, Smithsonian, 26 Sep. 2019
Looking like a puffy white star studded with little pearls, this is the shell of an amoeboid protist called a foraminifera, or foram.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
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Adjective
Around the same time, Lina Bo Bardi punched out amoeboid openings in the side of a concrete steel-drum-factory tower in São Paulo, transforming it into a cultural center.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Sep. 2021
Other microorganisms travel using amoeboid movement, driven by flexing of their cellular skeletons, built from the protein actin.
—Tom Siegfried, Smithsonian, 26 Sep. 2019
Looking like a puffy white star studded with little pearls, this is the shell of an amoeboid protist called a foraminifera, or foram.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
Cite this Entry
“Ameba.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ameba. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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