ciliate

noun

cil·​i·​ate ˈsi-lē-ət How to pronounce ciliate (audio) -lē-ˌāt How to pronounce ciliate (audio)
: any of a phylum or subphylum (Ciliophora) of ciliated protozoans (such as paramecia)

Examples of ciliate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Rudek regularly dipped the stars in an iodine solution to kill a group of parasites called ciliates that scar the skin and slow the healing process. — Dino Grandoni, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Mar. 2023 Similar events elsewhere have involved parasitic ciliates in the genus ‘Philaster’. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025 After a final sequence of emergences and contractions, the ciliate eventually got fed up, pulled up stakes and swam away, presumably looking for a less noxious place to settle down. — Claire L. Evans, Quanta Magazine, 30 July 2025 The team found that rumen ciliates with more of the hydrogen-producing structures helped generate more methane than microbes with fewer hydrogenobodies did. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ciliate

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ciliate was in 1916

Browse Nearby Words

ciliary flame
ciliate
ciliated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ciliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ciliate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

ciliate

noun
cil·​i·​ate ˈsil-ē-ət How to pronounce ciliate (audio)
-ˌāt
: any of a group of protozoans that have cilia

Medical Definition

ciliate

noun
cil·​i·​ate ˈsil-ē-ət, -ē-ˌāt How to pronounce ciliate (audio)
: any of a phylum or subphylum (Ciliophora) of ciliated protozoans (such as paramecia)

More from Merriam-Webster on ciliate

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ciliate

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