AGGLUTINATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does agglutination mean? 

• AGGLUTINATION (noun)
  The noun AGGLUTINATION has 3 senses:

1. a clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins)

2. the building of words from component morphemes that retain their form and meaning in the process of combining

3. the coalescing of small particles that are suspended in solution; these larger masses are then (usually) precipitated

  Familiarity information: AGGLUTINATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AGGLUTINATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("agglutination" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "agglutination"):

haemagglutination; hemagglutination (agglutination of red blood cells)

isoagglutination (agglutination of an agglutinogen of one individual by a serum from another individual of the same species)

Derivation:

agglutinate (clump together; as of bacteria, red blood cells, etc.)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The building of words from component morphemes that retain their form and meaning in the process of combining

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("agglutination" is a kind of...):

linguistic process (a process involved in human language)

Derivation:

agglutinate (string together (morphemes in an agglutinating language))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The coalescing of small particles that are suspended in solution; these larger masses are then (usually) precipitated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

agglutinating activity; agglutination

Hypernyms ("agglutination" is a kind of...):

chemical action; chemical change; chemical process ((chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved)

 Context examples 

Phytohemagglutinin binds to complex oligosaccharides containing galactose, N-acetylglucosamine and mannose, causing agglutination of most mammalian red blood cell types.

(Phytohemagglutinin, NCI Thesaurus)

A measurement of the erythrocyte agglutination in a biological specimen.

(Erythrocyte Agglutination Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The determination of the amount of erythrocyte agglutination present in a sample.

(Erythrocyte Agglutination Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)