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Biology vocabulary · Cells and Levels of Organization

Organelle

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˌɔːrɡəˈnel/nounCore term

In biology, organelle means: A small structure inside a cell that has a specific job, such as the nucleus, mitochondria or chloroplasts. Most organelles are surrounded by their own membrane.

In Turkish: organel

How it is used

Literally 'little organ'. Textbooks separate membrane-bound organelles, found only in eukaryotes, from structures such as ribosomes that have no membrane. Other examples are the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes and vacuoles.

Example sentences

  1. Prokaryotic cells lack membrane-bound organelles.

  2. We used a dye that stains only one organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum.

Common collocations

  • membrane-bound organelle
  • cell organelle
  • organelle function
  • isolate organelles
  • cellThe smallest unit of life that can survive on its own. Every living thing is made of one or more cells, and each cell is surrounded by a membrane.
  • nucleusThe large structure in a eukaryotic cell that holds most of its DNA and controls the cell's activities. It is surrounded by a double membrane called the nuclear envelope.
  • mitochondrionAn organelle that releases energy from food molecules and stores it as ATP through aerobic respiration. It has two membranes and its own small set of DNA.
  • chloroplastAn organelle in plant and algal cells where photosynthesis takes place. It contains the green pigment chlorophyll and has its own DNA.
  • ribosomeA small structure made of RNA and protein that builds proteins by reading the instructions in messenger RNA. Ribosomes are found in all cells.

More terms: Cells and Levels of Organization

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