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’.