Standard Lemma guide

microtubule

noun · 2 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

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  • CMU ARPABET: M AY1 K R OW2 T UW1 B Y UW0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small tube made of protein and found in cells; part of the cytoskeleton.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a microscopically small tubule

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tubule

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English micro- Latin tubuluslbor. English tubule English microtubule From micro- + tubule.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: microtúbul — microscopic tube in cells
  • Czech: mikrotubulus — microscopic tube in cells
  • Finnish: mikrotubulus — microscopic tube in cells
  • Finnish: mikroputki — microscopic tube in cells
  • French: microtubule — microscopic tube in cells
  • German: Mikrotubulus — microscopic tube in cells
  • Hungarian: mikrotubulus — microscopic tube in cells
  • Italian: microtubulo — microscopic tube in cells
  • Persian: ریزلوله (rizlule) — microscopic tube in cells
  • Polish: mikrotubula — microscopic tube in cells
  • Portuguese: microtúbulo — microscopic tube in cells
  • Spanish: microtúbulo — microscopic tube in cells
  • Swedish: mikrotubul — microscopic tube in cells
  • Swedish: mikrotubulus — microscopic tube in cells