prokaryote
noun
pro·kary·ote (ˌ)prō-ˈker-ē-ˌōt 
(ˌ)prō-ˈka-rē-ˌōt
variants or less commonly procaryote
: any of the typically unicellular microorganisms that lack a distinct nucleus and membrane-bound organelles and that are classified as a kingdom (Prokaryotae synonym Monera) or into two domains (Bacteria and Archaea) compare archaea, bacterium, eukaryote
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Up until then, viral factories appeared to be exclusive to the viruses that infect eukaryotes, so finding one in a prokaryote bolstered the idea that something similar could have happened long ago to initiate the formation of a nucleus. 
Quanta Magazine, 25 Nov. 2020 But some researchers suspect there are many more species of prokaryotes in the world — which would mean many more species of viruses. Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020 In a paper published on March 4 in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, Dr. Kuhn and his colleagues argued that there are, at minimum, 100 million species of viruses that infect prokaryotes. Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020 Eukaryotes are thought to have first evolved when a host cell swallowed up a prokaryote, or bacteria. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2019 There weren’t just two—there were five, and some were eukaryotes (with nucleuses), and some were prokaryotes (without). Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2019 The first endosymbiosis occurred when a prokaryote—a single-cell organism without a nucleus—engulfed a bacterium, producing the first eukaryotic cell about 1.7 billion years ago. Viviane Callier, Smithsonian, 23 Oct. 2019 Far from being rare alternatives to the lone microbe swimming in a flask or sprawled in a Petri dish, 99.9 percent of the simple cells called prokaryotes default to living in close quarters among millions of their compatriots. Carrie Arnold, Quanta Magazine, 25 July 2017 But that wasn’t complete either, and scientists made a third domain in addition to eukaryotes and prokaryotes: the archaea. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2019 See More
Quanta Magazine, 25 Nov. 2020 But some researchers suspect there are many more species of prokaryotes in the world — which would mean many more species of viruses. Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020 In a paper published on March 4 in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, Dr. Kuhn and his colleagues argued that there are, at minimum, 100 million species of viruses that infect prokaryotes. Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020 Eukaryotes are thought to have first evolved when a host cell swallowed up a prokaryote, or bacteria. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2019 There weren’t just two—there were five, and some were eukaryotes (with nucleuses), and some were prokaryotes (without). Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2019 The first endosymbiosis occurred when a prokaryote—a single-cell organism without a nucleus—engulfed a bacterium, producing the first eukaryotic cell about 1.7 billion years ago. Viviane Callier, Smithsonian, 23 Oct. 2019 Far from being rare alternatives to the lone microbe swimming in a flask or sprawled in a Petri dish, 99.9 percent of the simple cells called prokaryotes default to living in close quarters among millions of their compatriots. Carrie Arnold, Quanta Magazine, 25 July 2017 But that wasn’t complete either, and scientists made a third domain in addition to eukaryotes and prokaryotes: the archaea. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
New Latin Prokaryotes, proposed subdivision of protists, from pro- entry 1 + kary- + -otes, plural noun suffix, from Greek -ōtos — more at -otic
First Known Use
1963, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
prokaryote
noun
pro·kary·ote
variants also procaryote
(ˈ)prō-ˈkar-ē-ˌōt
: any of the typically unicellular microorganisms that lack a distinct nucleus and membrane-bound organelles and that are classified as a kingdom (Prokaryotae synonym Monera) or into two domains (Bacteria and Archaea) compare eukaryote