WHITE BLOOD CELL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does white blood cell mean? 

• WHITE BLOOD CELL (noun)
  The noun WHITE BLOOD CELL has 1 sense:

1. blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi; an important part of the body's defense system

  Familiarity information: WHITE BLOOD CELL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHITE BLOOD CELL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi; an important part of the body's defense system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

leucocyte; leukocyte; WBC; white blood cell; white blood corpuscle; white cell; white corpuscle

Hypernyms ("white blood cell" is a kind of...):

blood cell; blood corpuscle; corpuscle (either of two types of cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes) and sometimes including platelets)

free phagocyte (a phagocyte that circulates in the blood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "white blood cell"):

myelocyte (an immature leukocyte normally found in bone marrow)

myeloblast (a precursor of leukocytes that normally occurs only in bone marrow)

lymph cell; lymphocyte (an agranulocytic leukocyte that normally makes up a quarter of the white blood cell count but increases in the presence of infection)

granulocyte (a leukocyte that has granules in its cytoplasm)

monocyte (a type of granular leukocyte that functions in the ingestion of bacteria)

basophil; basophile (a leukocyte with basophilic granules easily stained by basic stains)

neutrophil; neutrophile (the chief phagocytic leukocyte; stains with either basic or acid dyes)

eosinophil; eosinophile (a leukocyte readily stained with eosin)

 Context examples 

White blood cells that attack tumor cells and body cells that have been invaded by foreign substances.

(Natural killer cell, NCI Dictionary)

Formed in lymphoid tissue, lymphocytes are white blood cells that can generally be classified as either T- or B-cells.

(Negative Regulation of Lymphocyte Activation, NCI Thesaurus)

HIV infects white blood cells known as T lymphocytes, particularly the CD4+ T cells that recognise infection and gets the immune system to respond.

(HIV seeks refuge in immune cells to avoid full elimination, SciDev.Net)

Genes involved in oxidative stress, serotonergic signalling, and white blood cell activity were upregulated, while some other signaling-related genes were downregulated.

(Scientists Help Frogs to Regenerate Their Limbs with Bioreactor Device, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It is a form of interleukin-2, a cytokine made by leukocytes (white blood cells), that is made in the laboratory.

(Aldesleukin, NCI Dictionary)

Inflammation of the prostate gland where the only symptom is the presence of white blood cells in the prostate fluid.

(Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis, NCI Dictionary)

White blood cells help your body fight infection.

(Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Each antibody only binds to a specific antigen, helping to destroy the antigen directly or by assisting white blood cells to destroy the antigen.

(Antibody, NCI Thesaurus)

A deficiency in the number of granulocytes, a type of white blood cell.

(Neutropenia, NCI Dictionary)

An NK-LGL is a type of white blood cell.

(NK-LGL, NCI Dictionary)