Meaning & use

prokaryote

noun·Advanced

A single-celled organism, such as a bacterium, that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

See it in a sentence

Bacteria are prokaryotes because their genetic material floats freely inside the cell.

The biology lesson compared prokaryotes with more complex eukaryotic cells.

A note on using this word

Prokaryote contrasts directly with eukaryote, whose cells contain a nucleus enclosing their genetic material.

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