1. in biology, the basic unit of organized tissue, consisting of an outer plasma membrane, the nucleus, and various organelles in a watery fluid together comprising the cytoplasm. Bacteria lack a nucleus and most organelles. The term was first applied to biological structure by English physicist Robert Hooke (1635–1703) when describing the microscopic appearance of cork. See also cell theory.

2. a combination of two or more characteristics represented by the intersection of a row and a column in a statistical table. A tabular display resulting from a study of handedness in men and women, for instance, might consist of four cells: left-handed females, left-handed males, right-handed females, and right-handed males.