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 cell

Examples of red blood cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The procedure, which costs $12,000 for a single session at Extension Health, involves removing a patient’s blood, separating the red blood cells from the liquid plasma, and then returning the cells and a replacement plasma to the body. Dana G. Smith, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025 Iron Iron is an essential mineral needed to make hemoglobin, a component of red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body. Jonathan Purtell, Verywell Health, 19 Jan. 2025 This measures the amounts of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Doru Paul, Health, 10 Jan. 2025 Sickle cell disease is a group of congenital red blood cell disorders, named sickle cell for their crescent shape. Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for red blood cell 

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red blood cell was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near 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 26 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

red blood cell

noun
: a reddish cell of the blood that contains hemoglobin and carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

Medical Definition

red blood cell

noun
: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and are responsible for the red color of vertebrate blood

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

compare white blood cell

More from Merriam-Webster on red blood cell

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