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# amoeba

noun (an amoeba, amoebas or amoebae; US also ameba)

«amoeba» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A tiny living thing made of just one cell, which you can only see with a microscope. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#m1)
2. It has no fixed shape: it moves by pushing out parts of itself like fingers (called pseudopods) and eats by wrapping round its food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons the amoeba is a classic example of a single-celled organism that lives in ponds, soil and water. Some kinds cause illness if dirty water is drunk, which is why we boil or clean water. In everyday talk «amoeba-like» means shapeless.

### Examples

- Under the microscope the amoeba changed its shape. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x1)
- An amoeba is made of just one cell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x2)
- The amoeba wrapped around a tiny bit of food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x3)
- Amoebae live in pond water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x4)
- We drew the amoeba with its little pseudopods. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x5)
- Some amoebas can make people ill if they drink dirty water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/#x6)

### Note

Say «uh-MEE-buh». Two plurals: amoebas (everyday) and amoebae («uh-MEE-bee», science). US spelling ameba. It is not a bacterium and not an animal in the usual sense.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «amoeba» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amoeba/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«amoeba» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/amoeba.html) on Mova free.