motile Hear it!

motile Definition

mo·tile (mōt'l)

adjective

Biol. capable of or exhibiting spontaneous motion

Etymology: < L motus, pp. of movere, to move + -ile

Related Forms:

  • motility mo·til′·ity (mō tilə tē) noun
motile Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • become: This can occur in breast cancer cells and results in cells becoming motile.

Modifies a noun

  • sperm: The time to conception was inversely related to the number of motile sperm seen.
  • bacterium: For more examples of motile bacteria, see the page on the genus Bacillus.
  • count: There is a count of 30 million sperm per ml and 33 % are motile total motile count is 10 million.
  • cell: Very simple organisms have no nervous systems; the sensory input impinges directly upon motile cells, the precursors of muscle cells.
  • zoospore: Oospores germinate to release motile zoospores that are readily carried in soil water and thus spread the disease within the crop.
  • organism: Some samples had to be fixed in the field to prevent aggressive predators in the sample from eating the less motile organisms.

Modifying Another Word

  • highly: A highly motile organism, the colonies are surrounded by wispy swarms of bacteria.
  • actively: Some are actively motile, some are free-floating whilst many are found attached to a substrate.