| 1. | Nautical. able seaman. |
| 2. | airborne. |
| 3. | U.S. Air Force. Airman Basic. |
| 4. | Alberta, Canada (approved for postal use). |
| 5. | antiballistic; antiballistic missile. |
| a major blood group usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of type AB and to receive blood from persons of type O, A, B, or AB. |
| 1. | about. |
| 2. | Baseball. (times) at bat. |
| 1. | Nautical. able seaman. |
| 2. | Bachelor of Arts. Origin: < NL, ML Artium Baccalaureus  |
| 3. | Baseball. (times) at bat. |
| (times) at bat. |
[abz] 
| abdominal muscles. |
| 1. | Also called able-bodied seaman. an experienced deck-department seaman qualified to perform routine sea duties. |
| 2. | (in the British Navy and on British and U.S. merchant ships) a rating between ordinary seaman and leading seaman or boatswain's mate. Abbreviation: A.B., AB |
[an-ti-bod-ee] | 1. | any of numerous Y-shaped protein molecules produced by B cells as a primary immune defense, each molecule and its clones having a unique binding site that can combine with the complementary site of a foreign antigen, as on a virus or bacterium, thereby disabling the antigen and signaling other immune defenses. Abbreviation: Ab |
| 2. | antibodies of a particular type collectively. |
[ahv, awv] | the eleventh month of the Jewish calendar. |
| 1. | a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts, usually awarded for studies in the social sciences or humanities. |
| 2. | a person having this degree. Abbreviation: A.B., B.A. |
| ab 1 (āb) n. Slang An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin. |
| ab 2 (āb) n. Slang An abdominal muscle. Often used in the plural. |
| Ab (äb, äv, ôv) n. Variant of Av. |
| AB 1 (ā'bē') n. One of the four major blood groups in the ABO system. Individuals with this blood group have both A and B antigens on the surface of their red blood cells, and no antibodies for A and B in their blood serum. |
| AB 2 abbr.
|
| airman basic n.
|
| Al·ber·ta (āl-bûr'tə) A province of western Canada between British Columbia and Saskatchewan. It joined the confederation in 1905. Wheat and cattle farming were the basis of the province's economy until the discovery of oil and natural gas in the early 1960s. Edmonton is the capital and Calgary is the largest city. Population: 3,290,000. Al·ber'tan adj. & n. |
| Av (äv, ôv) n. The 11th month of the year in the Jewish calendar. See Table at calendar. [Mishnaic Hebrew 'āb, from Akkadian abu, a month name (July/August).] |
abs
[æbz]
|
Ab abbr.
antibody
ab- 2
pref.
Used to indicate an electromagnetic unit in the centimeter-gram-second system: abcoulomb.
antibody an·ti·bod·y (ān'tĭ-bŏd'ē)
n.
Abbr. Ab A protein substance produced in the blood or tissues in response to a specific antigen, such as a bacterium or a toxin, that destroys or weakens bacteria and neutralizes organic poisons, thus forming the basis of immunity.
An immunoglobulin present in the blood serum or body fluids as a result of antigenic stimulus and interacting only with the antigen that induced it or with an antigen closely related to it.
antibody (ān'tĭ-bŏd'ē) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) Any of numerous proteins produced by B lymphocytes in response to the presence of specific foreign antigens, including microorganisms and toxins. Antibodies consist of two pairs of polypeptide chains, called heavy chains and light chains, that are arranged in a Y-shape. The two tips of the Y are the regions that bind to antigens and deactivate them. Also called immunoglobulin. Our Living Language : Like other vertebrates, humans possess an effective immune system that uses antibodies to fight bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Antibodies are complex, Y-shaped protein molecules. The immune system's B lymphocytes, which are produced by the bone marrow, develop into plasma cells that can generate a huge variety of antibodies, each one capable of combining with and destroying an antigen, a foreign molecule. Antibodies react to very specific characteristics of different antigens, binding them to the top ends of their Y formation. Once the antibody and antigen combine, the antibodies deactivate the antigen or lead it to macrophages(a kind of white blood cell) that ingest and destroy it. High numbers of a particular antibody may persist for months after an invasion, eventually diminishing. However, the B cells can quickly manufacture more of the same antibody if exposure to the antigen recurs. Vaccines work by "training" B cells to recognize and react quickly to potential disease molecules. |
| ab Abkhazian |
| Ab antibody |
AB
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