Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various one-celled aquatic or parasitic protozoans of the genus Amoeba or related genera, having no definite form and consisting of a mass of protoplasm containing one or more nuclei surrounded by a flexible outer membrane. It moves by means of pseudopods.
Wiktionary
- n. biology A genus of unicellular protozoa that moves by means of temporary projections called pseudopodia.
- n. mathematics The graph of the real part of the logarithms of a polynomial equation in complex numbers.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A rhizopod common in fresh water, capable of undergoing many changes of form at will. Same as ameba. See rhizopoda.
WordNet 3.0
- n. naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ἀμοιβή (amoibē, "change"), referring to constantly changing shape of these organisms. (Wiktionary)
- New Latin, genus name, from Greek amoibē, change, from ameibein, to change. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“ The term amoeba is sometimes used to refer to something with an indefinite, changeable shape.”
“The small jelly-speck, which we call the amoeba, has no organs save what it can extemporize as occasion arises.”
“The small jelly-speck, which we call the amoeba, has no organs save what it can extemporise as occasion arises.”
Selections from Previous Works and Remarks on Romanes' Mental Evolution in Animals
“If we're having trouble telling if an amoeba is intelligent it will scarcely affect our case.”
“What you said was "If we're having trouble telling if an amoeba is intelligent it will scarcely affect our case.”
“#63 Dyan; no even an amoeba is more intelligent than Bush.”
Think Progress » Bush Works For Lasting Peace In The Middle East
“You are using the terms amoeba and bacteria as though they are synonymous; they are not.”
“Being stricken by an amoeba is not a pleasant experience for anyone.”
“This seems a great deal, but in reality it is very little, for it does not differentiate an amoeba from a man.”
“Page 176: The word amoeba had an oe ligature in the original book.”
Science and the Infinite or Through a Window in the Blank Wall
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘amoeba’.
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Words that have "ae" or "oe"
Add any words you know that have these letter combinations!
acoelous, cacoethes, aeschylean, aborvitae, phaeochrous, aeneous, algae, aesthetic, aerobics, daedal, vitae, minutiae and 53 more...
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2
kerniving, scandinavia, confectionary, mangrove, bejewelled, flesh, crystalline, gazelle, pantaloons, bluebird, caribou, albatross and 88 more...
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Necessary?
"Words are very..."
The above was the original description for this list. Unfortunately, it doesn't convey much about the list contents.
I'm leaving you to draw your own conclusions abo...supererogation, fruitcake, unbeknownst, melifluous, bane, cavy, unnecessary, lyrical, question, undertow, weapon, arduous and 200 more...
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anotherfailedattempt's Words
kakistocracy, conflagration, pollyanna, equanimity, punctillious, obstreperous, ribald, belligerent, truculent, verbose, lachrymose, onanism and 278 more...
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tranquill's Words
loquacious, unmitigated, trundle, ephemeral, vociferous, trapezoidal, liminal, obsequious, veracity, squash, onomatopoeia, oscillate and 267 more...
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Dain's Words
rabble, terminus, archaic, atavism, demiurge, waylay, syzygy, jocoserious, quark, entropy, cinnabar, shamble and 912 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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1
horizon, echo, undulation, resonance, reflection, acoustic, swoosh, distant, glide, interspace, marbles, radiant and 144 more...
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ginnylev's Words
neuroplasticity, repudiate, scintilla, ruminate, tautology, ombudsman, exigent, filibuster, grace, ambidextrous, amends, disclosure and 623 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 866 more...
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Amusing words
interesting words
bonce, furcate, tapioca, tillage, desalinate, garish, litmus, roadhog, azoic, haberdasher, imbroglio, polliwog and 802 more...
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Words That Populate My Mind
This is a collection of words I love, old ones that I love the sound of when I repeat them for years and new ones coined in news articles on up and coming trends and technologies - most of them I k...
aroma, mojo, blithely, fringe, fray, synchronicity, doublespeak, buzzword, thoughtcrime, portmanteau, newspeak, oldspeak and 963 more...
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mkuo's Words
sigh, chum, clandestine, behemoth, paramour, leviathan, dollop, wastrel, pedantic, hankering, warble, lope and 317 more...
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Critters
cockle, cicada, appaloosa, brachiopod, bivalve, aye-aye, cygnet, alewife, chamois, ermine, drake, dugong and 381 more...
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jmjarmstrong's list
Words that I used to know.
geloscopy, hunker, willy nilly, harum scarum, whacko, meh, nork, misunderestimate, atrabiliousness, luftmensch, auxanometer, hyperhedonia and 1948 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for amoeba.
jmjarmstrong JM wonders if an amoeba gets splitting headaches? Jun 19, 2011