Adipocyte

The cell that stores fat is called an adipocyte, and its main job is to hold on to energy. It stores that energy as triacylglycerols, which are the fat molecules themselves, and it doesn't keep them loose and scattered: it gathers them into lipid droplets, small pockets of fat clustered inside the cell, the same way oil pools into droplets on top of a broth instead of spreading through the whole liquid.

But the adipocyte isn't just a quiet pantry. It also sends messages: it makes adipokines, molecules that leave the cell and carry hormonal information to the rest of the body. That's what's known as endocrine signaling, meaning communication by way of hormones.