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Definition of "monocyte" [monocyte]

  • A large, circulating, phagocytic white blood cell, having a single well-defined nucleus and very fine granulation in the cytoplasm. Monocytes constitute from 3 to 8 percent of the white blood cells in humans. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "monocyte" in a sentence
  • "Then finally there is the monocyte, which is an immature macrophage in the blood stream."
  • "The researchers therefore chose to grow (culture) monocytes, derived from mouse blood, under angiogenic conditions prior to transplantation to determine if these so-called monocyte derivatives could be beneficial."
  • "In acute monoblastic leukemia, the leukemia cell, the monoblast, is the precursor of the monocyte, another type of infection-fighting white blood cell."