Definition of "sickle" [sic•kle]

• An implement having a semicircular blade attached to a short handle, used for cutting grain or tall grass. (noun)
• The cutting mechanism of a reaper or mower. (noun)
• To cut with a sickle. (verb-transitive)
• To deform (a red blood cell) into an abnormal crescent shape. (verb-transitive)
• To assume an abnormal crescent shape. Used of red blood cells. (verb-intransitive)

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.

• "Nutrition supplementation studies in sickle cell disease"
• "A randomized, multicenter, phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral ICL670 (deferasirox) 20 mg/kg/day relative to subcutaneous deferoxamine in sickle cell disease patients with iron overload from repeated blood transfusions"
• "Commemorating a key event in sickle cell disease history"