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# paramecium

noun (a paramecium, paramecia or parameciums)

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

## Everyday

1. A paramecium is a tiny living thing made of just one cell, shaped like a slipper, that lives in ponds and fresh water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#m1)
2. It moves by beating thousands of tiny hairs called cilia and can only be seen with a microscope. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons it is a classic example of a single-celled organism (a protist) that pupils look at under a microscope; it eats bacteria and moves, so it shows that one cell can do everything needed to live. Phrases: look at a paramecium, a drop of pond water, single-celled organism.

### Examples

- We saw a paramecium in a drop of pond water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x1)
- A paramecium is made of just one cell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x2)
- The paramecium swam fast using its tiny hairs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x3)
- You need a microscope to see a paramecium. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x4)
- The teacher drew a paramecium shaped like a slipper. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x5)
- A paramecium eats bacteria. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x6)
- Many paramecia were moving on the slide. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paramecium/#x7)

### Note

Countable; scientific plural «paramecia», everyday plural «parameciums» is also seen. Say par-uh-MEE-see-um. It is not an animal or a plant; it is a protist. The tiny hairs are «cilia».

## On Mova

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