slime mold
noun
: any of a group (such as Myxomycetes) of organisms formerly held to be lower fungi but now often considered protists that exist vegetatively in usually moist habitats as mobile plasmodia and reproduce by spores
Examples of slime mold in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The physical science building is nestled in a forest, where slime molds bloom and trees tilt their leaves in obedience to their own circadian clocks.
—
Quanta Magazine, 10 Oct. 2023
The mass on the ground in the photo looks like dog vomit slime mold that is starting to dry up.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
But in the 1930s seagrass meadows from North Carolina to Canada were practically eradicated, likely the result of a plague of slime mold disease combined with a devastating 1933 hurricane.
—Shane Gross; Text By Katherine Harmon Courage, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Nov. 2020
The spores are then dispersed to create new dog slime mold patches.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
Along with the usual culprits like roaches and dead flies, county health inspectors last month cited eateries for infractions that included slime mold and bio-slime.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 1 Sep. 2023
The yellow slime mold Physarum polycephalum grows as a single cell that is big enough to be seen with the naked eye.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2010
The Cornell entomologists who christened the slime mold beetles named other new species after after their wives, Pocahontas, Darth Vader, and the locations where the creatures were first seen.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
These organisms have inspired a slime mold algorithm that researchers have deployed to map filaments of dark matter connecting galaxies throughout the universe.
—Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 6 Jan. 2022
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Quanta Magazine, 10 Oct. 2023
The mass on the ground in the photo looks like dog vomit slime mold that is starting to dry up.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
But in the 1930s seagrass meadows from North Carolina to Canada were practically eradicated, likely the result of a plague of slime mold disease combined with a devastating 1933 hurricane.
—Shane Gross; Text By Katherine Harmon Courage, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Nov. 2020
The spores are then dispersed to create new dog slime mold patches.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
Along with the usual culprits like roaches and dead flies, county health inspectors last month cited eateries for infractions that included slime mold and bio-slime.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 1 Sep. 2023
The yellow slime mold Physarum polycephalum grows as a single cell that is big enough to be seen with the naked eye.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2010
The Cornell entomologists who christened the slime mold beetles named other new species after after their wives, Pocahontas, Darth Vader, and the locations where the creatures were first seen.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
These organisms have inspired a slime mold algorithm that researchers have deployed to map filaments of dark matter connecting galaxies throughout the universe.
—Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 6 Jan. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slime mold.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1880, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near slime mold
Cite this Entry
“Slime mold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slime%20mold. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
slime mold
noun
: either of two groups of organisms that reproduce by spores and form slimy masses composed of amoeboid cells that fuse to form a giant cell with many nuclei or that gather tightly together without fusing
Medical Definition
slime mold
noun
: any organism of the group Myxomycetes
called also myxomycete
More from Merriam-Webster on slime mold
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slime mold
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