Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A capsule within specialized cells in the tentacles of cnidarians, such as jellyfish and corals, containing a barbed, threadlike tube that delivers a toxic sting to predators and prey.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A thread-cell or lasso-cell; a cnidocell or cnida; one of the organs of offense and defense peculiar to cœlenterates, as jellyfishes, by means of which they sting. See cuts under cnida, Actinozoa, and Willsia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A lasso cell, or thread cell. See lasso cell, under lasso.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biology A capsule, in certain cnidarians, containing a barbed, threadlike tube that delivers a paralyzing sting

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Could Bruce get arrested for calling the President a nincompoop, nitwit, nefarious or a nematocyst?

    OpEdNews - OpEdNews.Com Progressive, Tough Liberal News and Opinion 2010

  • Each nematocyst contains a coiled, hollow thread that can have barbs or spines and often contains poison.

    unknown title 2009

  • Each nematocyst contains a coiled, hollow thread that can have barbs or spines and often contains poison.

    unknown title 2009

  • Each nematocyst contains a coiled, hollow thread that can have barbs or spines and often contains poison.

    unknown title 2009

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