Protozoa
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
pro·to·zo·an
(prō′tə-zō′ən) also pro·to·zo·on (-ŏn′)n. pl. pro·to·zo·ans or pro·to·zo·a (-zō′ə) also pro·to·zo·ons
Any of numerous chiefly single-celled eukaryotic organisms, most of which move about freely and ingest food, including the amoebas, ciliates, flagellates, and apicomplexans. Protozoans along with certain algae, oomycetes, and some other groups make up the protists.
pro′to·zo′an, pro′to·zo′al, pro′to·zo′ic adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | ![]() kingdom Protoctista, Protoctista - in most modern classifications, replacement for the Protista; includes: Protozoa; Euglenophyta; Chlorophyta; Cryptophyta; Heterokontophyta; Rhodophyta; unicellular protists and their descendant multicellular organisms: regarded as distinct from plants and animals protozoan, protozoon - any of diverse minute acellular or unicellular organisms usually nonphotosynthetic class Sarcodina, Sarcodina - characterized by the formation of pseudopods for locomotion and taking food: Actinopoda; Rhizopoda Ciliata, Ciliophora, class Ciliata, class Ciliophora - class of protozoa having cilia or hairlike appendages on part or all of the surface during some part of the life cycle class Sporozoa, Sporozoa - strictly parasitic protozoans that are usually immobile; includes plasmodia and coccidia and piroplasms and malaria parasites phylum - (biology) the major taxonomic group of animals and plants; contains classes |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.