coenocyte
/ˈsɛnəˌsaɪt/
noun
- A cell or organism that contains many nuclei within a single continuous mass of cytoplasm, without being divided into separate cells.
- Some algae and fungi grow as a coenocyte, with hundreds of nuclei sharing one cell.
- The slime mold's feeding stage is a coenocyte that can crawl along the forest floor.
- In biology class, we studied how a coenocyte forms when nuclei divide but cell walls do not form.
Synonyms