nucleate
nucleate — adjective
- nucleatepositive
- more nucleatecomparative
- most nucleatesuperlative
1. describes a cell that contains a nucleus — the membrane-bound central compartmen
describes a cell that contains a nucleus — the membrane-bound central compartment where most of the cell's genetic material is stored.
Looking through the microscope, Élise identified which cells were nucleate by spotting the dark central dot inside each one.
used with 'cells' in a biology-lab context
Unlike mature human red blood cells, most cells in the body are nucleate and can therefore divide.
contrastive structure: 'unlike ... most ... are nucleate'
Only nucleate egg cells contain the complete set of genetic instructions needed for fertilization to succeed.
The biology textbook explained that nucleate cells can repair themselves, while cells without a nucleus cannot.
- nucleated
identical meaning, slightly more common in British medical writing
文法句型
nucleate + noun (typically cell, organism)
常見錯誤
nucleate — verb
- nucleatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- nucleates3rd person singular
- nucleating-ing form
- nucleatedpast simple
1. when particles, droplets, or other small units gather together and begin to form
when particles, droplets, or other small units gather together and begin to form a central mass around which further material collects — for example, water drops forming around dust in a cloud, or crystals appearing in a saturated solution.
Water droplets nucleated around tiny dust particles inside the cloud chamber, forming a visible mist.
intransitive: 'droplets nucleated around [something]'
In the chemistry lab, gas bubbles nucleated at the rough spots on the inner surface of the glass beaker.
The researcher added a small seed crystal to nucleate the growth of larger crystals in the salt solution.
Ice crystals nucleate around microscopic impurities when the water temperature drops below freezing.
When the pressure inside the magma chamber falls, gas pockets nucleate within the molten rock and expand rapidly.
- cluster
less technical; describes any grouping without the physical-process implication
- coalesce
emphasizes merging of separate units into one, not necessarily around a central point
- crystallize
specifically about forming crystals, a subset of nucleation
- disperse
to break apart or scatter, the opposite of gathering into a cluster
文法句型
nucleate + noun phrase (transitive)
noun phrase + nucleate (intransitive)
nucleate around + noun phrase
用法筆記
Common in scientific writing about phase changes (liquid→gas, liquid→solid). The intransitive pattern often uses 'around' or 'at' to indicate the site where clustering begins. The transitive pattern takes a direct object that is the material being gathered (e.g. 'nucleate crystal growth').