archaea
plural noun
ar·chaea
är-ˈkē-ə 
: usually single-celled, prokaryotic microorganisms of a domain (Archaea) that includes methanogens and those of harsh environments (such as acidic hot springs, hypersaline lakes, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents) which obtain energy from a variety of sources (such as carbon dioxide, acetate, ammonia, sulfur, or sunlight)
Characterized under the heading archaea, these creatures have an amazing lineage that extends deep in the geologic record to the twilight of Earth's organic origins.—
Todd Wilkinson
Todd Wilkinson… although archaea organize their DNA much as bacteria do (they also have no cell nucleus, for example), many aspects of the way the DNA gets processed are distinctly different. Instead, the processing is more similar to what goes in within eukaryotic cells.—Olivia Judson
Olivia JudsonMany of the archaea are thermophilic. These amazing "extremophiles" eke out a living in environments in which no other organism can survive.—David W. Wolfe
see archaean compare bacterium, eukaryote
David W. Wolfe
archaeal
adjective
Hot springs in Yellowstone National Park have revealed head-spinning levels of archaeal diversity—including a pair of organisms that are the most primitive forms of life alive today.
—Carl Zimmer
Carl Zimmer
… the archaeal proteins responsible for several crucial cellular processes have a distinct structure from the proteins that perform the same tasks in bacteria.
—W. Ford Doolittle
W. Ford Doolittle
Examples of archaea in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Over the past few decades, a two-domain tree has prevailed, in which eukaryotes emerged from within archaea rather than alongside them.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Sixty science units include an experiment focused on human bone cells and another carrying anaerobic archaea, which will look at viability and methane production of early terrestrial life in a simulated cosmic environment, Space News reports.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
The University of Hawaii is conducting further tests to learn more about the archaea.
—Rebecca Carballo, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Cloning is much simpler, and for a long time, many scientists thought the common ancestor of all eukaryotes—the branch of life that includes animals, plants, fungi, slime mold, and everything else besides bacteria and the small, strange archaea—took that route.
—Ilana E. Strauss, The Atlantic, 11 Nov. 2020
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Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Sixty science units include an experiment focused on human bone cells and another carrying anaerobic archaea, which will look at viability and methane production of early terrestrial life in a simulated cosmic environment, Space News reports.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
The University of Hawaii is conducting further tests to learn more about the archaea.
—Rebecca Carballo, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Cloning is much simpler, and for a long time, many scientists thought the common ancestor of all eukaryotes—the branch of life that includes animals, plants, fungi, slime mold, and everything else besides bacteria and the small, strange archaea—took that route.
—Ilana E. Strauss, The Atlantic, 11 Nov. 2020
See all Example Sentences for archaea
Dictionary Entries Near archaea
Cite this Entry
“Archaea.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaea. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
archaea
plural noun
ar·chaea
är-ˈkē-ə
: single-celled organisms that are prokaryotes often of harsh environments (as hot springs) and include forms that produce methane
Medical Definition
archaea
noun plural
ar·chaea
är-ˈkē-ə
1
capitalized
: a domain of primitive single-celled prokaryotic microorganisms including methane-producing forms and others that thrive in extremely salty or hot, often acidic environments
They are largely Archaea, a domain of life first identified 20 years ago …—Charles W. Petit and Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report
Charles W. Petit and Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report2
: microorganisms of the domain Archaea
Many of the archaea are thermophilic.—David W. Wolfe, Wilson Quarterly
David W. Wolfe, Wilson Quarterly
archaeal
adjective
Despite the morphological resemblance of archaea to bacterial cells (e.g., lack of a nuclear membrane), many archaeal processes, such as transcription, are much more similar to those of eukaryotes.
—Ken F. Jarrell, Bioscience
Ken F. Jarrell, Bioscience
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