macrophage
a large white blood cell, occurring principally in connective tissue and in the bloodstream, that ingests foreign particles and infectious microorganisms by phagocytosis.
Origin of macrophage
1Other words from macrophage
- mac·ro·phag·ic [mak-ruh-faj-ik], /ˌmæk rəˈfædʒ ɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby macrophage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use macrophage in a sentence
The lymph nodes are home to an array of immune cells, including macrophages.
Pollution mucks up the lungs’ immune defenses over time | Aimee Cunningham | November 21, 2022 | Science NewsMacrophages are bigger, curly-shaped cells that respond to the neutrophil alarms.
Macrophages are massive brutes that literally eat their enemies and spit out the remaining chunks while alerting other forces of an invasion.
CRISPR On-Off Switch Will Help Unlock the Secrets of Our Immune System | Shelly Fan | March 8, 2022 | Singularity HubThey found that mature fat cells and fat tissue macrophages, a type of immune cell, were cellular targets for the virus.
COVID-19 can attack fat cells, but it’s still not clear what that means | Hannah Seo | December 10, 2021 | Popular-ScienceMacrophages activate T-cells to sic them on the agents of disease.
Triggering the Body’s Defenses to Fight Cancer - Issue 108: Change | Lina Zeldovich | November 3, 2021 | Nautilus
British Dictionary definitions for macrophage
/ (ˈmækrəʊˌfeɪdʒ) /
any large phagocytic cell occurring in the blood, lymph, and connective tissue of vertebrates: See also histiocyte
Derived forms of macrophage
- macrophagic (ˌmækrəʊˈfædʒɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for macrophage
[ măk′rə-fāj′ ]
Any of various large white blood cells that play an essential immunologic role in vertebrates and some lower organisms by eliminating cellular debris and particulate antigens, including bacteria, through phagocytosis. Macrophages develop from circulating monocytes that migrate from the blood into tissues throughout the body, especially the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, lungs, brain, and connective tissue. Macrophages also participate in the immune response by producing and responding to inflammatory cytokines.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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