red blood cell
noun
variants
or less commonly red blood corpuscle
or red cell
or red corpuscle
: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and in mammals are typically biconcave disks which lack a nucleus and cellular organelles and are formed from nucleated cells of the red bone marrow
Note: The number of red blood cells ranges from four to six million in each cubic millimeter of normal human blood. The red color of blood is due to the presence of hemoglobin within the red blood cells.
called also erythrocyte
compare white blood cellExamples of red blood cell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Iron Iron is an essential mineral that's necessary for making hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout your blood.
—
Laura Schober, Health, 26 Nov. 2025
The dog spent Thanksgiving and the weekend afterward recovering from his binge on cooking oil and undergoing bloodwork every few days to ensure the onion and garlic powder hadn't caused severe damage to the dog's red blood cells.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
Iron supports many key functions in the body, most notably the production of red blood cells.
—Emily Brown, Verywell Health, 21 Nov. 2025
Often referred to as a vampire facial, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments involve drawing the client's blood, separating out the red blood cells and injecting the platelet-rich plasma back into the face with micro-needles.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for red blood cell
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Laura Schober, Health, 26 Nov. 2025
The dog spent Thanksgiving and the weekend afterward recovering from his binge on cooking oil and undergoing bloodwork every few days to ensure the onion and garlic powder hadn't caused severe damage to the dog's red blood cells.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
Iron supports many key functions in the body, most notably the production of red blood cells.
—Emily Brown, Verywell Health, 21 Nov. 2025
Often referred to as a vampire facial, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments involve drawing the client's blood, separating out the red blood cells and injecting the platelet-rich plasma back into the face with micro-needles.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for red blood cell
Cite this Entry
“Red blood cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20blood%20cell. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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