Nucleus
['njuːklɪəs] or ['nuklɪəs]
Definition
(noun.) a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction.
(noun.) any histologically identifiable mass of neural cell bodies in the brain or spinal cord.
(noun.) the positively charged dense center of an atom.
(noun.) (astronomy) the center of the head of a comet; consists of small solid particles of ice and frozen gas that vaporizes on approaching the sun to form the coma and tail.
Typist: Maxine--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A kernel; hence, a central mass or point about which matter is gathered, or to which accretion is made; the central or material portion; -- used both literally and figuratively.
(n.) The body or the head of a comet.
(n.) An incipient ovule of soft cellular tissue.
(n.) A whole seed, as contained within the seed coats.
(n.) A body, usually spheroidal, in a cell or a protozoan, distinguished from the surrounding protoplasm by a difference in refrangibility and in behavior towards chemical reagents. It is more or less protoplasmic, and consists of a clear fluid (achromatin) through which extends a network of fibers (chromatin) in which may be suspended a second rounded body, the nucleolus (see Nucleoplasm). See Cell division, under Division.
(n.) The tip, or earliest part, of a univalve or bivalve shell.
(n.) The central part around which additional growths are added, as of an operculum.
(n.) A visceral mass, containing the stomach and other organs, in Tunicata and some mollusks.
Inputed by Fidel
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Kernel, core, centre.
Edited by Guthrie
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Core, central_part, center, kernel,[See CORE]
Typed by Carolyn
Definition
n. the central mass round which matter gathers: (astron.) the head of a comet:—pl. Nuclei (nū′klē-ī).—adjs. Nū′clēal Nū′clēar pertaining to a nucleus.—v.t. Nū′clēāte to gather into or around a nucleus.—adjs. Nū′clēate -d having a nucleus; Nū′clēiform.—ns. Nū′clēin a colourless amorphous proteid a constituent of cell-nuclei; Nū′cleobranch one of an order of molluscs which have the gills packed in the shell along with the heart:—pl. Nucleobranchiă′ta; Nū′clēōle a little nucleus: a nucleus within a nucleus—also Nuclē′olus:—pl. Nuclē′oli.
Inputed by Gerard
Examples
- By 1810 a new Prussia existed, the nucleus of a new Germany. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But each of such swarmings still leaves a tribal nucleus behind to supply fresh invasions in the future. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It was the last asset in their fortunes, the nucleus around which their life was to be rebuilt. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- It is only the nucleus that can be guessed at; the fringe which shades out into various degrees of respectability remains entirely unmeasured. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- To aid the effect, a reflector was employed, and when the rays were directed to the clouds, they had the appearance of a huge comet, the reflector being the nucleus. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Strip it of all its ornament, run it down to the root and nucleus of the whole, and what is it? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Sir Samuel Bentham, of England, whose inventions in the last decade of the Eighteenth Century formed the nucleus of the modern art of woodworking. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Their numbers, however, were scarcely sufficient to be a nucleus for the population of the important points of the territory acquired by that war. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The nucleus of his army marched from Susa, gathering up contingents as they made their way to the Bosphorus. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Edited by Georgina