any of numerous freshwater, marine, or parasitic one-celled protozoa of the order Amoebida, characterized by a granular nucleus surrounded by a jellylike mass of cytoplasm that forms temporary extensions, or pseudopodia, by which the organism moves, engulfs food particles, and forms food vacuoles.
2.
a protozoan of the genus Amoeba, inhabiting bottom vegetation of freshwater ponds and streams: used widely in laboratory studies.
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
ameba in Medicine
ameba a·me·ba or amoeba (ə-mē'bə) n.pl.a·me·bas or a·me·bae (-bē) A protozoa of the genus Amoeba and of related genera, occurring in soil and water and parasitic in animals.