membrane
Americannoun
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Anatomy. a thin, pliable sheet or layer of animal or vegetable tissue, serving to line an organ, connect parts, etc.
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Cell Biology. the thin, limiting covering of a cell or cell part.
noun
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any thin pliable sheet of material
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a pliable sheetlike usually fibrous tissue that covers, lines, or connects plant and animal organs or cells
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biology a double layer of lipid, containing some proteins, that surrounds biological cells and some of their internal structures
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physics a two-dimensional entity postulated as a fundamental constituent of matter in superstring theories of particle physics
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a skin of parchment forming part of a roll
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A thin, flexible layer of tissue that covers, lines, separates, or connects cells or parts of an organism. Membranes are usually made of layers of phospholipids containing suspended protein molecules and are permeable to water and fat-soluble substances.
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See cell membrane
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Chemistry A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that is permeable to substances in solution.
Other Word Forms
- intermembrane adjective
- membraneless adjective
Etymology
Origin of membrane
1375–1425; late Middle English; Middle English membraan parchment < Latin membrāna. See member, -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These proteins help transport the components needed to assemble the cell wall outside the inner membrane barrier.
From Science Daily
The newly identified molecules belong to a group called steranes, which are stable remnants of sterols such as cholesterol that form part of the cell membranes of complex life.
From Science Daily
Unlike traditional compartments in the cell, these droplet-like clusters are not enclosed by membranes.
From Science Daily
In some cases, these factories are surrounded by membranes and serve as sites for DNA replication, resembling a primitive version of a cell nucleus.
From Science Daily
Inside cells, ions travel through specialized protein channels embedded in the cell membrane.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
