leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

: an acute or chronic disease in humans and other warm-blooded animals characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues and often in the blood

leukemic

lü-ˈkē-mik 

adjective or noun

Examples of leukemia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The cause became even more personal when his stepfather was also diagnosed with leukemia. —Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Friends and family of George Morford, an 8-year-old with leukemia, are holding a drive to find a genetic match who could donate stem cells for life-saving treatment should George need it. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2025

Silas was just 6 years old when he was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 24 Apr. 2025

For example, some patients with leukemia receive bone marrow transplants, which replace the diseased blood stem cells in the bone marrow with healthy ones. —Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing leukemia

• hairy cell leukemia
• lymphocytic leukemia
• myelogenous leukemia

Rhymes for leukemia

• premia
• academia
• acidemia
• azotemia
• bacteremia
• hyperaemia
• hyperemia
• hypoxemia
• septicaemia
• septicemia
• thalassaemia
• thalassemia

Kids Definition

leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

: a disease of warm-blooded animals including human beings that is a kind of cancer in which there is an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues and often in the blood

leukemic

-mik 

adjective

Medical Definition

leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

variants also leucemia

lü-ˈkē- also lü-ˈsē-

or chiefly British leukaemia also leucaemia

: an acute or chronic disease of unknown cause in humans and other warm-blooded animals that involves the blood-forming organs, is characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues of the body with or without a corresponding increase of those in the circulating blood, and is classified according to the type of white blood cell most prominently involved see acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, feline leukemia, lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphocytic leukemia, monocytic leukemia, myelogenous leukemia, promyelocytic leukemia