leukemia

play

noun leu·ke·mia \lü-ˈkē-mē-ə\

Definition of leukemia

: an acute or chronic disease in humans and other warm-blooded animals characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues and often in the blood

leukemic

play \lü-ˈkē-mik\ adjective or noun

See leukemia defined for English-language learners

See leukemia defined for kids

Recent Examples of leukemia from the Web

Last December, Lottie Tomlinson and Louis Tomlinson's mother, Johanna Deakin, passed away after a battle with leukemia.

— kaleigh fasanella, Teen Vogue, "Lottie Tomlinson Reveals New Tattoo for Her Mom on Instagram", 5 July 2017
The tribute takes place one year ago to the day when Sager received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the 2016 ESPY Awards for his courageous and public battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

— rick armstrong, Naperville Sun, "Armstrong: Batavia plans fete to remember sportscaster Craig Sager", 1 July 2017
Former WKU and NFL tight end Mitchell Henry died Friday morning after losing his battle with leukemia.

— drew hill, The Courier-Journal, "Former WKU tight end Mitchell Henry loses battle with leukemia", 30 June 2017
However, unlike in the original paper, these mice did not survive any longer than untreated mice with leukemia.

— jocelyn kaiser, Science | AAAS, "Cancer studies pass reproducibility test", 27 June 2017
During Tuesday’s practice Olsen was shadowed by Foster Hale, a 17-year-old Piedmont High student with leukemia, through the Make-a-Wish program.

— joseph person, charlotteobserver, "Panthers’ Greg Olsen wants to tear up his contract, but team might not be willing", 13 June 2017
West died peacefully late Friday after a short battle with leukemia, his family said in a statement posted on Facebook.

— laurence arnold, Bloomberg.com, "Adam West, Deadpan ‘Batman’ in Camp 1960s TV Series, Dies at 88", 10 June 2017
McGillis lost his life to leukemia while playing for Coughlin at Boston College.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "Landon Collins hits home run with charity softball game", 3 June 2017
Team Jay, the Facebook page chronicling his progress since Jay was diagnosed in 2014 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has about 11,000 followers.

— jerry fallstrom, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Eustis firefighters to support inspirational 10-year-old fighting leukemia", 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leukemia'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of leukemia

New Latin

NEW!

First Known Use: 1850

See Words from the same year

LEUKEMIA Defined for English Language Learners

leukemia

play

noun

Definition of leukemia for English Language Learners

medical : a very serious disease in which the body forms too many white blood cells

LEUKEMIA Defined for Kids

leukemia

play

noun leu·ke·mia \lü-ˈkē-mē-ə\

Definition of leukemia for Students

: a serious disease in which too many white blood cells are formed

Medical Dictionary

leukemia

play

noun leu·ke·mia \lü-ˈkē-mē-ə\

variants: also

leucemia

\lü-ˈkē- also lü-ˈsē-\play play or chiefly British

leukaemia

also

leucaemia

Medical Definition of leukemia

: an acute or chronic disease of unknown cause in humans and other warm-blooded animals that involves the blood-forming organs, is characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues of the body with or without a corresponding increase of those in the circulating blood, and is classified according to the type of white blood cell most prominently involved—see acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, feline leukemia, lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphocytic leukemia, monocytic leukemia, myelogenous leukemia, promyelocytic leukemia