nucleus

CEFRC1

/ˈnjuː.kli.əs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The central part of an atom or cell.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    An initial part or version that will receive additions.

Examples

  • A great deal of energy is locked up in the nucleus.

  • You two are the nucleus of the team.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈnuː.kli.əs/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The massive, positively charged central part of an atom, made up of protons and neutrons.

  2. The core, central part of something, around which other elements are assembled.

  3. A large membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells which contains genetic material.

More examples

In context

  • This collection will form the nucleus of a new library.

  • This publishing project and the experience Power gained from wartime activities formed the nucleus for the development of the giant enterprise that today is University Microfilms, subsidiary of the Xerox Education Group, Xerox Corporation.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank of an atom contains protons and neutrons, which determine its identity.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Learned borrowing from Latin nucleus (“kernel, core”). The earliest uses refer to the head of a comet and the kernel of a seed, both recorded in Lexicon Technicum in 1704. The sense in atomic physics was coined by British scientist Michael Faraday in 1844 in a theoretical meaning.