n.
      - a small room in which a prisoner is locked up or in which a monk or nun sleeps. ▸historical a small monastery dependent on a larger one. 
- a small compartment in a larger structure such as a honeycomb.
- Biology  the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane.
- a small group forming a nucleus of political activity:![]()  terrorist cells. 
- a device containing electrodes immersed in an electrolyte, used for current generation or electrolysis. ▸a unit in a device for converting chemical energy or light into electricity. 
- the local area covered by one of the short-range transmitters in a cellular telephone system. ▸N. Amer. a mobile phone. 
Derivative
  
  Etymology
  OE, from OFr. celle or L. cella ‘storeroom or chamber’.