noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   a colloidal aggregate, in a simple geometric form, of a specific number of amphipathic molecules which forms at a well-defined concentration, called the critical micelle concentration
2. 2
   an electrically charged particle built up from polymeric molecules or ions and occurring in certain colloidal electrolytic solutions like soaps and detergents wordnet

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin micella, from mica (“crumb”) + -ella.

Related phrases

critical micelle concentrationcritical micelle concentration

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.