protist — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.

   Synonyms

   protistan

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Besides the hundreds or thousands of metres of fungal mycelium in a teaspoon of healthy soil, there are more bacteria, protists, insects and arthropods than the number of humans who have ever lived on Earth.

2. Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus. Any single-celled eukaryote, prokaryote or sponge .

3. Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus. Any single-celled eukaryote or prokaryote .

4. Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus. Any single-celled eukaryote .

Noun

1. free-living or colonial organisms with diverse nutritional and reproductive modes

   Synonyms

   protistan

   Broader terms

   microorganismmicro-organism