multicellular

adjective

mul·​ti·​cel·​lu·​lar ˌməl-tē-ˈsel-yə-lər 

-ˌtī-

: having, made up of, or involving more than one and usually many cells especially of living matter

It is probable that with a few exceptions all the cells in a multicellular organism have the same genetic information encoded in the chains of nucleotide bases that make up their DNA.

—James E. Darnell, Jr.

A biofilm is a community of bacteria that use intercellular signaling to establish complex multicellular structures by coordinating gene expression and phenotypic changes.

—J. Christopher Post et al.

multicellularity

ˌməl-tē-ˌsel-yə-ˈler-ə-tē 

-ˌtī-

-ˈla-rə-

noun

When is an organism multicellular? A generic answer … is that multicellularity results when two or more neighboring cells adhere, interact, and physiologically communicate.

—Karl J. Niklas

Did you know?

Multicellular organisms are distinguished from the very primitive single-celled organisms—bacteria, algae, amoebas, etc. Even sponges, simple as they are, have specialized cell types such as digestive cells. In complex multicellular organisms, only the surface cells can exchange substances with the external environment, so the organisms have developed transport systems such as the circulatory system, in which the blood brings gases and nutrients to the cells and removes waste products from them.

Examples of multicellular in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These genes enable complex cellular processes, such as gene regulation and DNA binding, which are critical for multicellular development. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

How Cells Keep Time When Johnson entered graduate school in the 1970s, scientists knew that circadian clocks — organisms’ internal timekeepers for the day-night cycle — are ubiquitous in multicellular plants and animals. —Elizabeth Landau, quantamagazine.org, 11 Oct. 2024

Since then, scientists have discovered more than a thousand genes that produce different microRNAs in humans and have shown that all multicellular organisms use microRNA to control protein production. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024

Today, all complex multicellular life — indeed, all life that any of us regularly see — is made of eukaryotic cells. —Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

multicellular

adjective

mul·​ti·​cel·​lu·​lar

ˌməl-ti-ˈsel-yə-lər,

-ˌtī-

: having or consisting of many cells

multicellularity

-ˌsel-yə-ˈlar-ət-ē

noun

Medical Definition

multicellular

adjective

mul·​ti·​cel·​lu·​lar -ˈsel-yə-lər 

: having or consisting of many cells

multicellularity

-ˌsel-yə-ˈlar-ət-ē 

noun

plural multicellularities