- any thin pliable sheet of material
- a pliable sheetlike usually fibrous tissue that covers, lines, or connects plant and animal organs or cells
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
mem•brane /ˈmɛmbreɪn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Anatomya thin layer of tissue that covers an organ, etc.
mem•brane
(mem′brān),USA pronunciation n.
mem′brane•less, adj.
- Anatomya thin, pliable sheet or layer of animal or vegetable tissue, serving to line an organ, connect parts, etc.
- Cell Biologythe thin, limiting covering of a cell or cell part.
- Latin membrāna. See member, -an
- 1375–1425; late Middle English; Middle English membraan parchment
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
membrane /ˈmɛmbreɪn/ n
'membrane' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ABO system
- catarrh
- cell
- chemoreceptor
- choroid
- colloid
- conjunctiva
- cornea
- coryza
- crystalloid
- cyst
- cystoid
- cytoplasm
- dialysis
- diaphragm
- diphtheria
- drum
- eardrum
- ECMO
- egg
- encyst
- endometrium
- envelope
- film
- fraenum
- gastric ulcer
- gill
- haemodialysis
- haw
- head
- hyaloid membrane
- hymen
- hymenopterous
- indusium
- kettledrum
- lamella
- mediastinum
- meninges
- mitochondrion
- mucous membrane
- neurolemma
- nictitating membrane
- nuclear
- nucleus
- omentum
- osmosis
- osmotic pressure
- peptic ulcer
- perichondrium
- active transport