n.
Variant: also ame · ba
Pronunciation: ə - ' m ē -b ə
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -bas or -bae \ -( ˌ )b ē \
Etymology: New Latin, genus name, from Greek amoib ē change, from ameibein to change ― more at MIGRATE
Date: 1855
: any of a large genus ( Amoeba ) of naked rhizopod protozoans with lobed and never anastomosing pseudopodia, without permanent organelles or supporting structures, and of wide distribution in fresh and salt water and moist terrestrial environments broadly : a naked rhizopod or other amoeboid protozoan
– amoe · bic \ -bik \ adjective
amoeba: 1 pseudopodium, 2 nucleus, 3 contractile vacuole, 4 food vacuole