mother cell

noun

: a cell that gives rise to other cells usually of a different sort

Examples of mother cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to professor Knut Woltjen, a partner of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), in collaboration with Dior researchers, between 25 and 90 years old mother cell respiration is reduced by 40 percent. Essence, 5 Sep. 2025 Print Cell division, or the process of how daughter cells emerge from a mother cell, is fundamental to biology. Somin Lee, The Conversation, 20 July 2023 The sticky cells in each of these snowflakes were genetically identical to each other---each cell had budded off from a mother cell, but had stuck around rather than setting off on its own. Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mother cell was in 1840

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Cite this Entry

“Mother cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother%20cell. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Medical Definition

mother cell

noun
: a cell that gives rise to other cells usually of a different sort
a sperm mother cell
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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