prokaryote

noun

pro·​kary·​ote (ˌ)prō-ˈker-ē-ˌōt 

(ˌ)prō-ˈka-rē-ˌōt

variants or less commonly procaryote

: any of the typically unicellular microorganisms that lack a distinct nucleus and membrane-bound organelles and that are classified as a kingdom (Prokaryotae synonym Monera) or into two domains (Bacteria and Archaea) compare archaea, bacterium, eukaryote

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Faced with the same supply problem, Epulopiscium will remain a prokaryote. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010

Even this giant prokaryote needs to have genes in close proximity to its membrane. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010

Up until then, viral factories appeared to be exclusive to the viruses that infect eukaryotes, so finding one in a prokaryote bolstered the idea that something similar could have happened long ago to initiate the formation of a nucleus. —Quanta Magazine, 25 Nov. 2020

But some researchers suspect there are many more species of prokaryotes in the world — which would mean many more species of viruses. —Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020

In a paper published on March 4 in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, Dr. Kuhn and his colleagues argued that there are, at minimum, 100 million species of viruses that infect prokaryotes. —Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020

Eukaryotes are thought to have first evolved when a host cell swallowed up a prokaryote, or bacteria. —Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2019

There weren’t just two—there were five, and some were eukaryotes (with nucleuses), and some were prokaryotes (without). —Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2019

The first endosymbiosis occurred when a prokaryote—a single-cell organism without a nucleus—engulfed a bacterium, producing the first eukaryotic cell about 1.7 billion years ago. —Viviane Callier, Smithsonian, 23 Oct. 2019

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Word History

Etymology

New Latin Prokaryotes, proposed subdivision of protists, from pro- entry 1 + kary- + -otes, plural noun suffix, from Greek -ōtos — more at -otic

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

prokaryote

noun

pro·​kary·​ote prō-ˈkar-ē-ˌōt 

: an organism (as a bacterium) that is typically single-celled and does not have a nucleus or most of the cell structures (as mitochondria) characteristic of eukaryotes

Medical Definition

prokaryote

noun

pro·​kary·​ote

variants also procaryote

(ˈ)prō-ˈkar-ē-ˌōt 

: any of the typically unicellular microorganisms that lack a distinct nucleus and membrane-bound organelles and that are classified as a kingdom (Prokaryotae synonym Monera) or into two domains (Bacteria and Archaea) compare eukaryote

prokaryotic adjective

also procaryotic

-ˌkar-ē-ˈät-ik