sessile

adjective

ses·sile | \ ˈse-ˌsī(-ə)l

How to pronounce sessile (audio)

, -səl \

Definition of sessile

1 : attached directly by the base : not raised upon a stalk or peduncle a sessile leaf sessile bubbles

2 : permanently attached or established : not free to move about sessile sponges and coral polyps

Examples of sessile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This discovery of the cassiosomes takes us one step closer to understanding how these sessile creatures manage to capture prey. — Cheryl Ames, National Geographic, "THE BEST OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX," 13 Feb. 2020 To assemble the data set, research teams looked at about 20 trees from each of the dozen tree species, which included maritime pine, Norway spruce, sessile oak, stone pine, and European beech. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Massive effort to document the genetics of European forests bears fruit," 27 Jan. 2020 Jellyfish begin their lives much like their cousins, as sessile polyps anchored to the seafloor, scrounging for food in the passing currents. — Quanta Magazine, "Jellyfish Genome Hints That Complexity Isn’t Genetically Complex," 8 Jan. 2019 Well, the sessile oak sapling—from Belleau, the French site of a World War I battle—is no longer on the White House lawn. — David Meyer, Fortune, "Why the Tree Emmanuel Macron Gifted to Trump Disappeared From the White House Lawn," 30 Apr. 2018 Another factor, Monterro-Serra notes, is that these sessile species are clonal. — National Geographic, "Why This Animal Can Live for Over 500 Years," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sessile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near sessile

sesquiterpenoid

sessile barnacle

sessile gonophore

sessile hydatid

Statistics for sessile

Cite this Entry

“Sessile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sessile. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for sessile

sessile

adjective

ses·sile | \ ˈses-īl

\

Medical Definition of sessile

1 : attached directly by a broad base : not pedunculated a sessile tumor

2 : firmly attached (as to a cell) : not free to move about sessile antibodies

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