vacuole

V4A1C3U1O1L1E1
/ˈvækjʊˌəʊl/

noun

A large membrane-bound vesicle in a cell's cytoplasm.

OriginFrench vacuole ← Latin vacuus →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounvacuole (plural vacuoles)

plural vacuoles

  1. biologyA large membrane-bound vesicle in a cell's cytoplasm.
  2. A small empty or air-filled space or vacuity.

    This surface itself was not entirely homogeneous, but beneath it, seen as through ground glass, there were dim whitish patches or vacuoles, which varied constantly in shape and size.

    1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed

Origin

  1. Latinvacuus“empty”
  2. Frenchvacuole
  3. Englishvacuole

From French vacuole, from Medieval Latin vacuola, formed as a diminutive of Latin vacuus (“empty”).

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan vacúol
  • vacúollarge membrane-bound vesicle
Chinese Mandarin 液泡
  • 液泡 (yèpào)large membrane-bound vesicle
Czech vakuola
  • vakuolalarge membrane-bound vesicle
Dutch vacuole
  • vacuolelarge membrane-bound vesicle
Esperanto vakuolo
  • vakuololarge membrane-bound vesicle
Finnish vakuoli, solunesteontelo
  • vakuolilarge membrane-bound vesicle
  • solunesteontelolarge membrane-bound vesicle
  • solunesterakkulalarge membrane-bound vesicle
French vacuole
  • vacuolelarge membrane-bound vesicle
German Vakuole
  • Vakuolelarge membrane-bound vesicle
Greek κενοτόπιο
  • κενοτόπιο (kenotópio)large membrane-bound vesicle
Hebrew חלולית
  • חלולית (khalulít)large membrane-bound vesicle
Hungarian sejtnedvüreg, űröcske
  • sejtnedvüreglarge membrane-bound vesicle
  • űröcskelarge membrane-bound vesicle
Italian vacuolo
  • vacuololarge membrane-bound vesicle
Japanese 液胞
  • 液胞 (ekihō)large membrane-bound vesicle
Latin vacuola
  • vacuolalarge membrane-bound vesicle
Māori miru
  • mirularge membrane-bound vesicle
Polish wakuola, wodniczka
  • wakuolalarge membrane-bound vesicle
  • wodniczkalarge membrane-bound vesicle
Portuguese vacúolo
  • vacúololarge membrane-bound vesicle
Romanian vacuolă
  • vacuolălarge membrane-bound vesicle
Russian вакуо́ль
  • вакуо́ль (vakuólʹ)large membrane-bound vesicle
Spanish vacuola
  • vacuolalarge membrane-bound vesicle
Tagalog lungkag
  • lungkaglarge membrane-bound vesicle
Turkish koful
  • kofullarge membrane-bound vesicle
Ukrainian вакуо́ля
  • вакуо́ля (vakuólja)large membrane-bound vesicle
Vietnamese không bào
  • không bàolarge membrane-bound vesicle
Welsh gwagolyn
  • gwagolynlarge membrane-bound vesicle
Cite this entry
APA

vacuole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuole

MLA

“vacuole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuole. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vacuole,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vacuole.

Source: vacuole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.