amoeba

[uh-mee-buh] /əˈmi bə/

noun, plural amoebas, amoebae

[uh-mee-bee] /əˈmi bi/ (Show IPA)

ameba.

Examples from the web for amoeba

Among his discoveries was that nonparasitic amoeba can fatally infect the brains of humans.
My once succulent buttocks now resemble a greasy, flatulent amoeba halfway through the process of mitosis.
Doctors did not realize it at the time, but he had a brain infection caused by a type of amoeba.
The boys sit out beside the sea while the chief lectures them on the merciless nobility of the amoeba.
In one environment there is a giant amoeba shape suspended in a darkened room illuminated by neon light.
They extend a pseudopod in the direction they wish to travel, and the rest of the amoeba then flows forward into the pseudopod.
In fact, the average one-celled amoeba looks far perkier under a microscope than a fertilized human egg.

British Dictionary definitions for amoeba

amoeba

/əˈmiːbə/

noun (pl) -bae (-biː), -bas

any protozoan of the phylum Rhizopoda, esp any of the genus Amoeba, able to change shape because of the movements of cell processes (pseudopodia). They live in fresh water or soil or as parasites in man and animals

Derived Forms

amoebic, (US) amebic, adjective

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin, from Greek amoibē change, from ameibein to change, exchange

Word Origin and History for amoeba

1855, from Modern Latin Amoeba, genus name (1841), from Greek amoibe "change," related to ameibein "to change, exchange," from PIE *e-meigw-, extended form of root *mei- "to change, go, move" (see mutable). So called for its constantly changing shape. Related: Amoebaean; amoebic.

amoeba in Medicine

amoeba a·moe·ba (ə-mē'bə)
n.
Variant of ameba.

Amoeba A·moe·ba (ə-mē'bə)
n. pl. a·moe·bas or a·moe·bae (-bē)

A genus of protozoa of the class Sarcodina or Rhizopoda.
Any of several genera of protozoa that are parasitic in humans, especially Entamoeba.

amoeba in Science

amoeba

(ə-mē'bə)
Plural amoebas or amoebae (ə-mē'bē)
Any of various one-celled aquatic or parasitic protozoans of the genus Amoeba or related genera, having no definite form and consisting of a mass of protoplasm containing one or more nuclei surrounded by a flexible outer membrane. Amoebas move by means of pseudopods.

amoeba in Culture

amoeba [(uh-mee-buh)]

An animal composed of only one cell that has no fixed shape. It is the best known of the single-celled animals, or protozoa.

Note: The term amoeba is sometimes used to refer to something with an indefinite, changeable shape.

amoeba in Technology

1. A distributed operating system developed by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and others of Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Amoeba is only available under licence from the VUA, but is free of charge and includes all source, binaries and documentation.
(https://am.cs.vu.nl/).
[Features?]
2. A derogatory term for Commodore's Amiga personal computer.
[Jargon File]
(1997-05-07)