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, 20 Feb. 2026
In the labs, visitors are shown how scientists take red blood cells from a developing egg embryo – within the blood will be the primordial germ cells, which develop into egg and sperm in adult birds.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
Morris added that anyone with a history of anemia or who has an unexplained low red blood cell count should promptly be screened as well.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 15 Feb. 2026
But the report also mentioned that his red blood cells were smaller than normal.
—Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for red blood cell
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Laura Schober, Health, 20 Feb. 2026
In the labs, visitors are shown how scientists take red blood cells from a developing egg embryo – within the blood will be the primordial germ cells, which develop into egg and sperm in adult birds.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
Morris added that anyone with a history of anemia or who has an unexplained low red blood cell count should promptly be screened as well.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 15 Feb. 2026
But the report also mentioned that his red blood cells were smaller than normal.
—Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026
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 21 Feb. 2026.
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