International School of Beijing

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cell

pronunciation:: sel
features:: Homophone Note, Word History, Word Explorer

part of speech:	noun
definition 1:	Cells are very, very small living things that make up every part of your body. Your skin, your bones, and your muscles, for example, are all made out of cells. Cells are also the building blocks of all other living things. A leaf, a tiger's tooth, a seed, the fur of a dog, an elephant's ear--every living thing you can think of is made out of cells. 细胞 Did you know that cells are so small that you can't see them without a microscope?
definition 2:	A cell is a very small room that someone stays in or lives inside. Prisoners in jails live in cells. Very religious people who live in a community by themselves usually have cells too, but they use them mostly for sleeping and praying. 小房间 The guard took the prisoner back to his cell.
related words:	booth, cabin, compartment

Homophone Note

The words cell and sell sound alike but have different meanings.

Word History

Cell comes from celare, a Latin word that means "to hide." By the 1300s, "cell" meant "small monastery" or "small room." In the late 1300s, it was used for the compartments that the brain was thought to be separated into. The current use of the word "cell" in biology first occurred in 1845.

Word Explorer

	grows in cell
	virus
	includes the study of cells
	biology
	person who studies cells
	scientist
	some examples of cells
	egg
	some means for categorizing cells
	function, structure
	some parts of cells
	membrane
	some things composed of cells
	blood, gland, organ, tissue
	some things composed of only one cell
	bacteria
	some things found in cells
	carbohydrate, carbon, fat, hydrogen, oxygen, protein, vitamin, water
	some tools for studying cells
	microscope, slide