cell wall

noun, Biology
1.
the definite boundary or wall that is part of the outer structure of certain cells, as a plant cell.
Origin
1840-50
Examples from the web for cell wall
  • It resides almost exclusively intra-cellularly without a cell wall.
  • In several portions of the specimen two or three generations of cells are seen enclosed in a parent cell wall.
  • Once there, they begin spreading a witches' brew of toxins produced by the bacteria or formed from the bacterial cell wall.
  • Vancomycin operates by binding to the bacterial cell wall and interfering with cell wall growth.
  • The cell wall is littered with pumps that move ions into and out of the cell.
  • Hidden away, they remain dormant as cysts, surrounding themselves with a tough cell wall.
  • Its plastid retains a distinct cell wall but divides at the same time as the host and cannot be grown independently.
  • In the case of bacteria, the polymer seems to work by gouging holes in a microbe's cell wall and spilling out its contents.
  • First, the first cell had to form, with a cell wall already smart enough to let wanted items in and to excrete unwanted things.
British Dictionary definitions for cell wall

cell wall

noun
1.
the outer layer of a cell, esp the structure in plant cells that consists of cellulose, lignin, etc, and gives mechanical support to the cell
cell wall in Medicine

cell wall n.
The rigid outermost cell layer found in plants and certain algae, bacteria, and fungi but characteristically absent from animal cells.

cell wall in Science
cell wall  
The outermost layer of cells in plants, bacteria, fungi, and many algae that gives shape to the cell and protects it from infection. In plants, the cell wall is made up mostly of cellulose, determines tissue texture, and often is crucial to cell function. Compare cell membrane.
cell wall in Culture

cell wall definition


The rigid outer covering of a typical plant cell, composed mainly of cellulose and lying outside the cell membrane. Animal cells do not have cell walls.

Note: It is the cell walls that give plant stems and wood their stiffness.