macrophage

noun

mac·​ro·​phage ˈma-krə-ˌfāj 

: a phagocytic tissue cell of the immune system that may be fixed or freely motile, is derived from a monocyte, functions in the destruction of foreign antigens (such as bacteria and viruses), and serves as an antigen-presenting cell compare histiocyte

macrophagic

ˌma-krə-ˈfa-jik 

adjective

Examples of macrophage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After a skin injury, the researchers found that macrophages, a type of white blood cell, infiltrate dermal adipose tissue, a tissue found in the layers of the skin. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

The potential solution presented by UCSD School of Medicine researchers is an anti-αvβ3 antibody that triggers macrophages, a type of immune cell already found in large quantities in advanced tumors. —Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025

Further, while macrophages showed more fat burning in dishes, it wasn’t directly proven that this happened to the same extent inside live animals. —New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2025

When the particle deposits here, protective alveolar macrophages rush to engulf it. —Bill Frist, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Makrophagen (plural), from makro- macro- + -phagen, plural of -phage -phage

Note: Introduced, along with Mikrophagen "microphages," by Élie metchnikoff in "Ueber den Kampf der Zellen gegen Erysipelkokken," Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie, Band 107 (1887), p. 222.

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for macrophage

• disengage
• interstage
• multistage
• age
• gauge
• phage
• plage
• rage
• stage
• wage
• alienage
• assuage

Kids Definition

macrophage

noun

mac·​ro·​phage ˈmak-rə-ˌfāj 

: a large phagocyte of the immune system

Medical Definition

macrophage

noun

mac·​ro·​phage ˈmak-rə-ˌfāj  -ˌfäzh 

: a phagocytic tissue cell of the immune system that may be fixed or freely motile, is derived from a monocyte, functions in the destruction of foreign antigens (as bacteria and viruses), and serves as an antigen-presenting cell see histiocyte, mononuclear phagocyte system

macrophagic

ˌmak-rə-ˈfaj-ik 

adjective