Definition of "white blood cell" []

• Any of various blood cells that have a nucleus and cytoplasm, separate into a thin white layer when whole blood is centrifuged, and help protect the body from infection and disease. White blood cells include neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. Also called leukocyte, white cell, white corpuscle. (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.

• "Strategically, antibodies are more generals than front-line troops: They enlist a specialized type of white blood cell for these nitty-gritty, surround-and-destroy missions."
• "As soon as the immune system realizes the body has been attacked by a foreign body, a type of white blood cell protein called an antibody jumps into action."
• "I was told that I also had leucopenia, a dangerously low white blood cell count."