Protist
//ˈproʊtɪst// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.
"Besides the hundreds or thousands of metres of fungal mycelium in a teaspoon of healthy soil, there are more bacteria, protists, insects and arthropods than the number of humans who have ever lived on Earth."
- 2 free-living or colonial organisms with diverse nutritional and reproductive modes wordnet
- 3 Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.; Any single-celled eukaryote, prokaryote or sponge .
- 4 Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.; Any single-celled eukaryote or prokaryote .
- 5 Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.; Any single-celled eukaryote .
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The researcher's team chose to study 10 common species of the ciliated protist – or protozoa microorganisms – because of their ability to reproduce."
Etymology
From translingual Protista, from Ancient Greek πρώτιστος (prṓtistos).
Related phrases
More for "protist"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.