Definition of METAZOAN (original) (raw)
: any of a group (Metazoa) that comprises all animals having the body composed of cells differentiated into tissues and organs and usually a digestive cavity lined with specialized cells
Examples of metazoan 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.
But gene regulation in complex metazoans — animals like humans, with complex eukaryotic cells — doesn’t generally seem to work this way. —
Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 This is just one of the myriad reasons biologists give for the long term lack of success of parthenogenetic metazoan lineages. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2013 The same drama is played out among the cells that make up every metazoan since the Cambrian Explosion, when multicellular life began. —George Johnson, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2013 Meanwhile, Knauth theorizes, oxygen-utilizing metazoans could have evolved on moist mats of oxygen producers kept hydrated by rains, lakes, streams and rivers during the late Precambrian. —Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2014
Word History
Etymology
New Latin Metazoa, from meta- + -zoa
First Known Use
1879, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of metazoan was in 1879
Dictionary Entries Near metazoan
Cite this Entry
“Metazoan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metazoan. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
Share
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!