cellulose

IPA/ˈseljuləʊs/
KK[sˈɛljəlˌos]IPA/ˈseljuləʊs/

cellulose — noun

1. A tough, fibrous material that forms the walls of plant cells; it is the main su

1.nounB2
Definition

A tough, fibrous material that forms the walls of plant cells; it is the main substance that gives plants their strength and structure, and is widely used to make paper, rayon, cellophane, and certain types of plastic.

Example

Most paper is made from the cellulose found in wood chips and cotton fibres.

made from + cellulose + found in [source material]

Unlike starch, the human body cannot digest cellulose because it lacks the necessary enzymes.

cannot digest cellulose — biological context

Common collocations
  • pure cellulose
  • plant cellulose
  • wood cellulose
  • cellulose fibre
  • cellulose pulp
  • cellulose acetate
  • extract cellulose
  • produce cellulose
  • contain cellulose
  • derived from cellulose
  • made from cellulose
Synonyms
  • plant fibre

    a broader, less precise term that includes cellulose along with other plant structural materials

  • polysaccharide

    a broader chemical category; cellulose is one specific polysaccharide

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun — no article needed

Usage Note

Cellulose is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form. It appears most frequently in scientific, biological, and industrial contexts.

Common Mistakes

The plant cell wall contains many celluloses.
The plant cell wall contains cellulose.
Cellulose is uncountable and cannot take a plural form.
Cellulose is a type of starch found in plants.
Cellulose is a type of carbohydrate found in plants, but unlike starch, it is not digestible by humans.
Cellulose and starch are different polysaccharides with different functions.

Word family

  • cellulosic
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cellulose is one specific polysaccharide that forms the rigid structural component of plant cell walls, whereas plant fibre is a broader dietary and industrial term that includes cellulose together with hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin. Starch is also a plant-based polysaccharide, but its function is energy storage rather than structural support, and unlike cellulose it is digestible by humans. Lignin is another structural polymer found in plant cell walls, but it is harder and more chemically resistant than cellulose, giving wood its stiffness. In everyday usage, 'cellulose' refers to the substance itself (e.g., 'cotton is almost pure cellulose'), while 'plant fibre' refers to the physical strands that contain it.

cellulose ↗plant fibrestarch ↗lignin

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • made from cellulose
  • derived from cellulose
  • source of cellulose

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'cellulose' was coined in French as 'cellulose' around 1838 by the French chemist Anselme Payen, who first isolated the substance from plant matter. He built it from 'cellule' (meaning 'small cell', from Latin 'cella') plus the chemical suffix '-ose', which is used for sugars and carbohydrates. The name reflects both its origin inside plant cells and its chemical nature as a carbohydrate.

First known use

1848

1848, in the meaning defined above