white cell
9
3.3
- noun
- /waɪt sɛl/
:
glóbulo blanco
- When fighting an infection, the body produces more white cells to combat the harmful bacteria.
- white cell count
- white cell differential
- total white cell
And then he spent literally months fiddling around with ice cold salt solutions, trying to work out ways of winkling out the white cells from these bandages.
- And then he spent literally months fiddling around with ice cold salt solutions, trying to work out ways of winkling out the white cells from these bandages.
Examples
-
When your immune system is functioning properly, it will immediately activate white cells and destroy the pathogens, keeping you healthy.
Blog text (15) -
Now those big white cells are attacking the cancer cells.
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Your body will send white cells to attack the foreign object.
Blog text (23) -
I had literally no white cells in my blood.
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White cell count is normal.
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Kate's white cell count's much lower than normal.
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Chemotherapy drugs often reduce a patient's white cell count, making them more susceptible to infection and less able to fight illness.
Academic text (2010) -
Monocytes make up approximately 5-10 percent of the total white cell count and function in the ingestion of bacteria and other foreign particles.
Academic text (2012) -
Neutrophils are the most numerous of the white cells, and they are active in the removal of invading bacteria or fungal antigens.
Academic text (2012) -
A routine blood count revealed an alarmingly high number of white cells, a mildly diminished hemoglobin, and a low platelet count.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
22
2.5
A cell in the blood that helps the body fight infections
7
6.7
A large white blood cell that eats and removes germs and dead cells
7
3.5
A blood cell that eats bacteria and fungi to help fight infection
3
5.4
A white blood cell that helps the body fight infection by eating bacteria and fungi
2
6.5
A large white blood cell with one nucleus that eats bacteria and other germs
1
7.7
A white blood cell that eats and destroys bacteria and other germs
1
4.6
A blood cell that surrounds and destroys germs
1
8.6
A white blood cell that eats and digests small germs or particles
1
8.1
A cell that eats and destroys bacteria and dead cells to help the body's immune system
A blood cell that helps protect the body by eating and killing bacteria and other germs
A white blood cell that eats and kills bacteria
Antonyms
- Specialized
16
3.1
A small round cell in the blood that carries oxygen to body tissues
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally transparent: a B1 learner who knows 'white' (the color) and 'cell' (a microscopic living unit) will readily interpret 'white cell' as a kind of cell that is white. While specialized immunological details (phagocytosis, protecting the body) require domain knowledge, the basic category ('a white-colored cell') is directly derivable and parallels equivalent constructions in many languages.
Etymology
White cell comes from the parts white and cell: these blood cells look lighter than red cells and they move around and 'eat' germs. That's why white cells 'protect the body' and 'fight infection'.