platelet

noun

plate·​let ˈplāt-lət 

: a minute flattened body (as of ice or a mineral)

especially : a minute colorless disklike body of mammalian blood that assists in blood clotting by adhering to other platelets and to damaged epithelium

called also blood platelet, thrombocyte

Examples of platelet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Shay was diagnosed with preeclampsia and later HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) and later postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder. —David Oliver, USA Today, 22 July 2025

The research started back in 2017 where the team found HSCs in the lungs of mice which were capable of making red blood cells, as well as white blood cells which help with fighting infections and healing and also cells which produce platelets. —Victoria Forster, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025

Grant’s extensive treatment and multiple infections have called for blood and platelet transfusions, ongoing infusions and continued hospitalizations. —Ramona Sentinel, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks is the exclusive provider of blood, platelets and plasma for more than 40 area hospitals, including all Northwest Arkansas hospitals. —Miceala Morano, Arkansas Online, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing platelet

• blood platelet

Rhymes for platelet

• antiplatelet

Kids Definition

platelet

noun

plate·​let ˈplāt-lət 

: one of the tiny colorless disk-shaped bodies of the blood of mammals that assist in blood clotting

Medical Definition

platelet

noun

plate·​let ˈplāt-lət 

: a minute colorless anucleate disklike body of mammalian blood that is derived from fragments of megakaryocyte cytoplasm, that is released from the bone marrow into the blood, and that assists in blood clotting by adhering to other platelets and to damaged epithelium

called also blood platelet, thrombocyte