English > WBC: 1 sense > noun 1, body| Meaning | blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi; an important part of the body's defense system. |
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| Synonyms | leukocyte, leucocyte, white blood cell, white cell, white blood corpuscle, white corpuscle |
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| Narrower | basophil, basophile | A leukocyte with basophilic granules easily stained by basic stains |
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| eosinophil, eosinophile | A leukocyte readily stained with eosin |
| granulocyte | A leukocyte that has granules in its cytoplasm |
| lymphocyte, lymph cell | An agranulocytic leukocyte that normally makes up a quarter of the white blood cell count but increases in the presence of infection |
| monocyte | A type of granular leukocyte that functions in the ingestion of bacteria |
| myeloblast | A precursor of leukocytes that normally occurs only in bone marrow |
| myelocyte | An immature leukocyte normally found in bone marrow |
| neutrophil, neutrophile | The chief phagocytic leukocyte |
| Broader | blood cell, blood corpuscle, corpuscle | Either of two types of cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes) and sometimes including platelets |
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| free phagocyte | A phagocyte that circulates in the blood |
| Spanish | glóbulo blanco, glóbulos blancos, leucocito |
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| Catalan | globuls blancs, leucòcit |
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