Meaning & use
chloroplast
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebiology
A small structure in plant and algae cells that contains chlorophyll and where photosynthesis happens.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a chloroplast', 'chloroplasts', or 'many chloroplasts'.
Patterns
- a chloroplast contains chlorophyll
- chloroplasts in plant cells
- inside the chloroplast
Each plant cell contains many chloroplasts.
The chloroplast is where photosynthesis takes place.
Chloroplasts give leaves their green color because they contain chlorophyll.
Word forms
| plural | chloroplasts |
|---|
Common combinations
- a chloroplast contains chlorophyll
- A chloroplast contains chlorophyll, which captures light.
- chloroplasts in plant cells
- Chloroplasts in plant cells carry out photosynthesis.
- inside the chloroplast
- The light reactions occur inside the chloroplast.
- chloroplast DNA
- Chloroplast DNA is inherited from the mother plant.
Word family
- chloroplastic adjective
- Technical term meaning relating to chloroplasts.
Commonly confused: chloroplast or chlorophyll?
chloroplast vs chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is the green pigment; a chloroplast is the cell structure that contains chlorophyll and performs photosynthesis.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'chloroplast' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A chloroplast is the organelle (structure) in plant cells that carries out photosynthesis. Option 0 describes chlorophyll, the pigment; option 2 describes oxygen; option 3 is too broad—a chloroplast is only part of a cell.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chloroplast”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.