B cell

noun

: any of the lymphocytes that have antigen-binding antibody molecules on the surface, that comprise the antibody-secreting plasma cells when mature, and that in mammals differentiate in the bone marrow : b lymphocyte

The glycoproteins produced by B cells, called antibodies or immunoglobulins, recognize and bind free antigens and are responsible for humoral immunity …

—Haruo Saito et al.

… helper T cells that induce the proliferation of the antibody-producing B cells.

—N. A. Mitchison

… patients have no mature B cells circulating in the bloodstream and no antibodies to fight off infections.

—Jean Marx

compare t cell

Examples of B cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, those who received the dual-adjuvant vaccine produced more than twice as many unique B cells than those mice who received a single-adjuvant vaccine. —Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025

Back in 2022, researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany showed that administering CAR T-cell therapy to five people with severe lupus could completely remove the aberrant B cells, sending all of the patients into remission. —Juergen Eckhardt, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Mice subjects were unable to produce as many functional B cells as their same-age peers with ELOVL2 levels depleted. —Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025

After coming into contact with a pathogen, B cells form memory B cells and plasma cells. —Suchandrima Bhowmik, Health, 8 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

B probably from bursa-derived (produced by the bursa of Fabricius)

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for B cell

• bel
• belle
• cel
• dell
• dwell
• el
• ell
• fel
• fell
• gel
• gell
• jell

Kids Definition

B cell

noun

ˈbē-ˌsel

: any of the lymphocytes that produce antigen-binding antibodies and that arise and mature in the bone marrow compare t cell

Medical Definition

B cell

noun

: any of the lymphocytes that have antigen-binding antibody molecules on the surface, that comprise the antibody-secreting plasma cells when mature, and that in mammals differentiate in the bone marrow

called also B lymphocyte

compare t cell