- Also called: cuticle the thin protective outer layer of the skin, composed of stratified epithelial tissue
- the outer layer of cells of an invertebrate
- the outer protective layer of cells of a plant, which may be thickened by a cuticle
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ep•i•der•mis /ˌɛpəˈdɜrmɪs/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Anatomythe outermost layer of the skin.
ep•i•der•mis
(ep′i dûr′mis),USA pronunciation n.
ep′i•der′mal, ep′i•der′mic, adj.
ep′i•der′mi•cal•ly, adv.
- Anatomythe outer, nonvascular, nonsensitive layer of the skin, covering the true skin or corium.
- Zoologythe outermost living layer of an animal, usually composed of one or more layers of cells.
- Botanya thin layer of cells forming the outer integument of seed plants and ferns.
- Greek epidermís upper skin. See epi-, derma
- Late Latin: surface skin
- 1620–30
ep′i•der′mi•cal•ly, adv.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
epidermis /ˌɛpɪˈdɜːmɪs/ n
'epidermis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
burn
- corium
- cortex
- cuticle
- dermis
- ectoderm
- epi-
- hair
- hypodermic
- hypodermis
- mantle
- piliferous
- scale
- scarfskin
- skin
- turbellarian
- basal cell
- corn
- cutis
- epitrichium
- eponychium
- hair follicle
- ichthyosis
- keratolysis
- Malpighian layer
- nail
- palisade parenchyma
- perionychium
- pityriasis
- protoderm
- pycnium
- trichome
- velamen
- vesicle
- scald
- scurf
- squama
- stoma