vacuole

noun — 2 senses

vacuole

noun

/ˈvækjʊˌəʊl/

Etymology From French vacuole, from Medieval Latin vacuola, formed as a diminutive of Latin vacuus (“empty”).

1

Biology, Cytology, Medicine, Natural sciences, Sciences A large membrane-bound vesicle in a cell's cytoplasm.

2

A small empty or air-filled space or vacuity.

  • This surface itself was not entirely homogeneous, but beneath it, seen as through ground glass, there were dim whitish patches or vacuoles, which varied constantly in shape and size.1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:
Derived terms
contractile vacuole, food vacuole, hemivacuole, macrovacuole, microvacuole, parasitophorous vacuole, prevacuole, provacuole

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.