immune response

noun

: a bodily response to an antigen that occurs when lymphocytes identify the antigenic molecule as foreign and induce the formation of antibodies and lymphocytes capable of reacting with it and rendering it harmless

called also immune reaction

Examples of immune response in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Voclosporin is a next-generation calcineurin inhibitor (CNI), a class of drugs that suppresses the immune system by blocking calcineurin, an enzyme required for activating T-cells—a type of white blood cell central to immune responses. —Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Mental health and immune response are affected by how animals are feeling—and, as the rash of stereotypies suggests, captive animals are not feeling well. —Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

The compound 1,8-cineole, however, boosted IFN in a different way, by turning off a gene (TIPARP) that normally slows down this immune response. —New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025

Flu shots do not contain aluminum, used in trace amounts in some shots, such as hepatitis and pneumococcal vaccines, to help generate a strong immune response. —Liz Szabo, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for immune response

• bons
• hans
• launce
• nonce
• sconce
• esperance
• nonchalance
• nonresponse
• renaissance
• naissance

Kids Definition

immune response

noun

: a bodily response to a foreign substance, cell, or tissue that involves the formation of antibodies and cells capable of reacting with it and rendering it harmless

called also immune reaction

Medical Definition

immune response

noun

: a bodily response to an antigen that occurs when lymphocytes identify the antigenic molecule as foreign and induce the formation of antibodies and lymphocytes capable of reacting with it and rendering it harmless

called also immune reaction