What does "cell" mean?
A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
Cell
/sɛl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
- Grammar: cell is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adytum, anatomy, animal cell, apartment.
- Useful contrasts: whole organism, whole organisms, noncell.
- Usage evidence: How can you have a laptop and not a cell phone?
How to use "cell"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cell" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cell" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cell" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cell" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cell" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adytum" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cell", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
"So, taking them apart into his cell, / He to that point fit speaches gan to frame […]."
- 2 A cellular phone. Australia, New-Zealand, Philippines, US, informal
- 3 (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals wordnet
- 4 A small monastery or nunnery dependent on a larger religious establishment. historical
- 5 a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction wordnet
Show 26 more definitions
- 6 A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person.
"Gregor Mendel must have spent a good amount of time outside of his cell."
- 7 a room where a prisoner is kept wordnet
- 8 A room in a prison or jail for one or more inmates.
"The combatants spent the night in separate cells."
- 9 small room in which a monk or nun lives wordnet
- 10 Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb.
- 11 any small compartment wordnet
- 12 Any of various chambers in a tissue or organism having specific functions.
"Each of the two cells or lobes of the anther is marked with a lateral line or furrow, running from top to bottom[…]."
- 13 a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver wordnet
- 14 The discal cell of the wing of a lepidopteran insect.
- 15 a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement wordnet
- 16 Specifically, any of the supposed compartments of the brain, formerly thought to be the source of specific mental capacities, knowledge, or memories. obsolete
"How soft the music of those village bells / […] With easy force it opens all the cells / Where mem'ry slept."
- 17 A section or compartment of a larger structure.
- 18 Any small dwelling; a remote nook, a den. literary, obsolete
"Thou seest but the order and policie of this little Cell [translating caveau] wherein thou art placed[…]."
- 19 A device which stores electrical power; used either singly or together in batteries; the basic unit of a battery.
"This MP3 player runs on 2 AAA cells."
- 20 The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.
"An American company has applied to experiment in Britain on Parkinson's disease sufferers by injecting their brains with cells from pigs."
- 21 A small thunderstorm, caused by convection, that forms ahead of a storm front.
"There is a powerful storm cell headed our way."
- 22 The minimal unit of a cellular automaton that can change state and has an associated behavior.
"The upper right cell always starts with the color green."
- 23 In FreeCell-type games, a space where one card can be placed.
- 24 A small group of people forming part of a larger organization, often an outlawed one.
"Those three fellows are the local cell of that organization."
- 25 A short, fixed-length packet, as in asynchronous transfer mode.
"Virtual Channel number 5 received 170 cells."
- 26 A region of radio reception that is a part of a larger radio network.
"I get good reception in my home because it is near a cell tower."
- 27 A three-dimensional facet of a polytope.
- 28 The unit in a statistical array (a spreadsheet, for example) where a row and a column intersect.
- 29 The space between the ribs of a vaulted roof.
- 30 A cella.
- 31 An area of an insect wing bounded by veins.
Verb
- 1 To place or enclose in a cell. transitive
"Myself a recluse from the world, And celled under ground, Lest that the gould, the precious stones, And pleasures, here be found"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"How can you have a laptop and not a cell phone?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cell"?
Common synonyms include: adytum, anatomy, animal cell, apartment, ashram, basic unit.
How do you use "cell" in a sentence?
How can you have a laptop and not a cell phone?
How do you pronounce "cell"?
Pronounced /sɛl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English celle, selle, from Old English cell (attested in inflected forms), from Latin cella (“chamber, small room, compartment”), later reinforced by Old French cel, sele, Old French cele. Ultimately from Proto-Italic *kelnā, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelneh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Doublet of cella and hall.
Etymology 2
Ellipsis of cell phone, itself a clipping of cellular phone, from cellular + phone.