Amoeba
/əˈmiːbə/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A member of the genus Amoeba of unicellular protozoa that moves by means of temporary projections called pseudopodia.
- 2 naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion wordnet
- 3 Any eukaryote that exhibits amoeboid movement, having the ability to change its shape.
- 4 Any member of the class or phylum Sarcodina, a polyphyletic grouping into which diverse amoeboids were placed. historical
- 5 A graph of the real part of the logarithms of a polynomial equation in complex numbers.
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- 6 An asexual. slang
Example
More examples"This rare brain-eating amoeba travels up the nose to the brain and starts eating it."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀμοιβή (amoibḗ, “change”), referring to constantly changing shape of these organisms.