Standard Lemma guide

membrane

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈmɛm.bɹeɪn/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛmbɹeɪn
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH1 M B R EY2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments.

A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: anatomy, biology, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments.

A flexible or semiflexible covering or waterproofing whose primary function is to exclude water.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: anatomy, biology, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments.

A microscopic double layer of lipids and proteins forming the boundary of cells or organelles.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: anatomy, biology, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A piece of parchment forming part of a roll.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a thin pliable sheet of material

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sheet, flat solid

Narrower terms: drumhead, head, gelatin, gel

6

noun

Meaning 6

a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tissue layer

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: animal tissue

Narrower terms: trophoblast, chorioallantois, chorioallantoic membrane, web, Bowman's capsule, glomerular capsule, capsula glomeruli, axolemma, basilar membrane, fetal membrane, choroid, choroid coat, ciliary body, cornea, diaphragm, midriff, eardrum, tympanum, tympanic membrane, myringa, endocranium, endosteum, ependyma, fertilization membrane, hyaloid membrane, hyaloid, intima, iris, lamella, meninx, meninges, mucous membrane, mucosa, periosteum, perithelium, retina, sarcolemma, semipermeable membrane, serous membrane, serosa, synovial membrane, synovium, tunic, tunica, adventitia

History

Etymology

Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin membrāna (“skin or membrane that covers parts of the body”), from membrum (“a limb or member of the body”) + -āna. Doublet of membrana.

Across languages

Translations

135 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: غِشَاء (ḡišāʔ) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Armenian: թաղանթ (tʻaġantʻ) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Asturian: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Azerbaijani: qişa — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Belarusian: мембра́на (mjembrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Belarusian: мэмбра́на (membrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Belarusian: перапо́нка (pjerapónka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Belarusian: бало́на (balóna) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Belarusian: бало́нка (balónka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Bulgarian: ци́па (cípa) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Bulgarian: мембра́на (membrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Catalan: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Chinese Mandarin: 膜 (mó) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Chinese Mandarin: 薄膜 (bómó) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Czech: membrána — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Czech: blána — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Danish: membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Dutch: membraan — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Esperanto: membrano — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Estonian: kile — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Estonian: membraan — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Finnish: kalvo — enclosing or separating tissue
  • French: membrane — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Galician: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Galician: teaz — enclosing or separating tissue
  • German: Membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • German: Membrane — enclosing or separating tissue
  • German: Häutchen — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Greek: μεμβράνη (memvráni) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Greek: υμένας (yménas) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ancient Greek: ὑμήν (humḗn) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ancient Greek: μῆνιγξ (mêninx) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Hebrew: קרום (krum) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Hindi: झिल्ली (jhillī) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Hungarian: hártya — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Icelandic: himna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Indonesian: membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ingrian: obolocka — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Irish: scannán — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Irish: seicin — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Italian: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Italian: pergamena — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Japanese: 膜 (maku) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Khmer: ភ្នាស (phniəh) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Korean: 막 (mak) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Northern Kurdish: perde — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Latin: membrāna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Latvian: membrāna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Latvian: plēve — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Lithuanian: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Lithuanian: plėvė — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Macedonian: ци́па (cípa) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Macedonian: мембра́на (membrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Malay: kulipis — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Malayalam: ചർമ്മം (caṟmmaṁ) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Northern Mansi: сыквар (sykvar) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Māori: rīrapa — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Māori: tewe — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Māori: kiriuhi — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Mongolian: хальс (xalʹs) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Norwegian Bokmål: membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hinne — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hinne — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Persian: شامه (šāme) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Polish: błonka — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Polish: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Polish: zakrywka — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Polish: błona — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Portuguese: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Romanian: membrană — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Romanian: membrane — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Russian: мембра́на (membrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Russian: перепо́нка (perepónka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Russian: оболо́чка (obolóčka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̀пна — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Serbo-Croatian: мембра́на — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Serbo-Croatian: òpna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Serbo-Croatian: membrána — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Slovak: membrána — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Slovak: blana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Slovene: opna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Slovene: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Spanish: membrana — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Swedish: membran — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Swedish: hinna — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Tagalog: lamad — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Tagalog: bamban — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Telugu: పొర (pora) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Thai: เยื่อ (yʉ̂ʉa) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Thai: เนื้อเยื่อ (nʉ́ʉa-yʉ̂ʉa) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Turkish: zar — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ottoman Turkish: زار (zar) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ukrainian: мембра́на (membrána) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ukrainian: пере́тинка (perétynka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Ukrainian: оболо́нка (obolónka) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Urdu: پردہ (parda) — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Vietnamese: màng — enclosing or separating tissue
  • Armenian: թաղանթ (tʻaġantʻ) — mechanical part
  • Azerbaijani: membran — mechanical part
  • Belarusian: мембра́на (mjembrána) — mechanical part
  • Belarusian: мэмбра́на (membrána) — mechanical part
  • Bulgarian: мембра́на (membrána) — mechanical part
  • Chinese Mandarin: 薄膜 (bómó) — mechanical part
  • Czech: membrána — mechanical part
  • Czech: blána — mechanical part
  • Dutch: membraan — mechanical part
  • Finnish: kalvo — mechanical part
  • German: Membran — mechanical part
  • German: Membrane — mechanical part
  • Greek: μεμβράνη (memvráni) — mechanical part
  • Greek: υμένας (yménas) — mechanical part
  • Icelandic: himna — mechanical part
  • Indonesian: membran — mechanical part
  • Italian: membrana — mechanical part
  • Malayalam: പടലം (paṭalaṁ) — mechanical part
  • Norwegian Bokmål: membran — mechanical part
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hinne — mechanical part
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: membran — mechanical part
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hinne — mechanical part
  • Persian: شامه (šāme) — mechanical part
  • Polish: membrana — mechanical part
  • Portuguese: membrana — mechanical part
  • Russian: мембра́на (membrána) — mechanical part
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̀пна — mechanical part
  • Serbo-Croatian: мембра́на — mechanical part
  • Serbo-Croatian: òpna — mechanical part
  • Serbo-Croatian: membrána — mechanical part
  • Swedish: membran — mechanical part
  • Swedish: hinna — mechanical part
  • Ukrainian: мембра́на (membrána) — mechanical part
  • Chinese Mandarin: 薄膜 (bómó) — flexible covering
  • Finnish: kermi — flexible covering
  • Hindi: झिल्ली (jhillī) — flexible covering
  • Ottoman Turkish: زار (zar) — flexible covering
Real reading context

membrane in complete knowledge articles