Meaning & use
tissue
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small, soft piece of thin paper used for wiping the nose or eyes and then thrown away.
Grammar: Used with a box or packet: a box of tissues.
Patterns
- a box/packet of tissues
- a tissue for something
She pulled a tissue from her bag and dried her eyes.
Please put the used tissues in the bin.
We keep a box of tissues next to the bed.
nouncountable or uncountablebiology
A mass of similar cells in a living body that together carry out one job, such as muscle or nerve.
Grammar: In biology, the word is uncountable for general use (muscle tissue) and countable for types.
Patterns
- muscle/nerve/scar tissue
- tissue damage
Muscle tissue contracts to move the body.
The surgeon removed a sample of tissue for testing.
Scar tissue formed over the wound.
noununcountable
Very thin, light paper used for wrapping gifts or delicate objects.
Grammar: Often called tissue paper.
Patterns
- wrapped in tissue
- tissue paper
She wrapped the glasses in tissue.
The gift was tucked in pink tissue paper.
He folded the dress in tissue to protect it.
nounsingularfigurativeliterary
A network or mass of connected things, often with the sense that it is flimsy.
Grammar: Used in the phrase a tissue of lies.
Patterns
- a tissue of lies
His story was a tissue of lies.
The report is a tissue of half-truths.
The alibi turned out to be a tissue of excuses.
Word forms
| plural | tissues |
|---|
Common combinations
- box of tissues
- Keep a box of tissues on the desk.
- muscle tissue
- Exercise strengthens muscle tissue.
- scar tissue
- Scar tissue can limit movement after surgery.
- tissue paper
- She lined the box with white tissue paper.
- tissue sample
- The lab examined the tissue sample for signs of disease.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Kleenex
- Kleenex is a trademark that is often used for any facial tissue, though tissue is the neutral word.
- hankie
- Hankie is an informal word for a cloth handkerchief that can be washed and reused, unlike a paper tissue.
- cells
- Cells are the tiny units that make up tissue, so tissue means a group of them working together.
- flesh
- Flesh is the soft part of the body and is less technical than tissue.
Word family
- tissues noun
- the plural
- histology noun
- the study of tissues
- connective tissue noun
- tissue that supports and joins other body parts
- tissue culture noun
- the growing of cells in a lab
Commonly confused: tissue or issue?
tissue vs issue
Issue means a topic or problem, and it looks similar but has no connection to paper or cells.
Practice
In biology, muscle ___ is made of cells that contract.
Choose one answer.
Tissue means a group of similar cells doing one job, such as muscle. Paper and fiber glass are materials, and issue means a topic or problem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tissue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.