nucleus

«nucleus» in Mova's school dictionary: the centre of a cell that holds its DNA and controls it — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a nucleus, nuclei)

meaning for a pupil

1) (science) The nucleus is the centre of a cell that holds its DNA and controls it. tree →

2) (science) The nucleus of an atom is its tiny centre, made of protons and neutrons. tree →

3) A nucleus is the central or most important part of a group or thing, as in the nucleus of a team. tree →

sense in the lessons

In biology lessons, plant and animal cells have a nucleus; bacteria do not. In chemistry and physics, the atom's nucleus holds almost all its mass, with electrons around it; nuclear energy comes from it. In everyday talk, a few key players form the nucleus of a team.

examples

• The nucleus controls what the cell does. tree →
• Plant and animal cells both have a nucleus. tree →
• The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons. tree →
• We drew the nucleus in the middle of our cell diagram. tree →
• Nuclear power comes from splitting the nucleus of atoms. tree →
• These five players are the nucleus of the team. tree →
• The latter scholar has proved that there is a nucleus of stories in every European land which is common to all. tree →

note

Plural: nuclei (said NEW-klee-eye). Adjective: nuclear. Said NEW-klee-us (UK) or NOO-klee-us (US). Trap: nuclear is often mispronounced nucular.

In the corpora

• An atom is made of smaller parts: protons and neutrons in a tiny middle called the nucleus, and electrons around it.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nucleus» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.