white blood cell

noun

: any of the blood cells that are colorless, lack hemoglobin, contain a nucleus, and include the lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils

called also leukocyte, white blood corpuscle, white cell

compare red blood cell

Examples of white blood cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Why Another Approved Medication Matters An EoE patient’s white blood cells build in the esophagus, causing damage and inflammation. Kayla Hui, Verywell Health, 23 Feb. 2024 When inflammation and white blood cells fill the area, the lungs become opaque and more white on the reading, Offit explains. Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023 In January, a Philadelphia jury ordered Bayer to pay a staggering $2.3 billion in a lawsuit filed by a man diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that targets white blood cells, after using Roundup for two decades. Randall Chase, Quartz, 1 Mar. 2024 Lymphocytes are white blood cells within the immune system.1 Though the two blood cancers bear slightly similar names, the two differ. Barbara Brody, Health, 9 Nov. 2023 Ancrum for some time had battled multiple myeloma, a cancer that forms in the white blood cells. Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2024 First-line immune defenders, like neutrophils, need to be replaced after just four to eight hours, platelets can last a week, red blood cells up to four months, and some white blood cells, like memory B cells, live for decades. Megan Molteni, STAT, 22 Jan. 2024 When receptors on white blood cells bind to antigens, this triggers the immune response. Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 16 Jan. 2024 According to the National Cancer Institute, the treatment involves replicating a patient’s T cells — a type of white blood cell — and reprogramming them so they can be infused back into the patient to target and kill the cancer cells. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 30 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'white blood cell.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of white blood cell was in 1852

Dictionary Entries Near white blood cell

Cite this Entry

“White blood cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20blood%20cell. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

white blood cell

noun
: a colorless blood cell (as a lymphocyte) that lacks hemoglobin and contains a nucleus

called also leukocyte, white blood corpuscle, white cell, white corpuscle

Medical Definition

white blood cell

noun
: any of the blood cells of the immune system that are colorless, lack hemoglobin, contain a nucleus, and include the lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils along with their precursors and derivatives (as macrophages) : leukocyte
abbreviation WBC

called also white blood corpuscle, white cell, white corpuscle

compare red blood cell

More from Merriam-Webster on white blood cell

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!