red blood cell

noun

variants or less commonly red blood corpuscle or red cell or red corpuscle

: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and in mammals are typically biconcave disks which lack a nucleus and cellular organelles and are formed from nucleated cells of the red bone marrow

Note: The number of red blood cells ranges from four to six million in each cubic millimeter of normal human blood. The red color of blood is due to the presence of hemoglobin within the red blood cells.

called also erythrocyte

compare white blood cell

Examples of red blood cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Therefore, hemagglutinins have the ability to cause red blood cells to clump together. —Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024

The 19-year-old was born with sickle cell disease, which makes his red blood cells crescent-shaped and sticky. —Emily Mullin, WIRED, 23 Dec. 2024

Specifically, those proteins are hemoglobin and myoglobin, which carry oxygen to the lungs and muscles through red blood cells. —Christina Pérez, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2024

This cluster of symptoms can cause bleeding in the liver, destruction of red blood cells, and problems with blood clotting. —Corey Whelan, Verywell Health, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

red blood cell

noun

: a reddish cell of the blood that contains hemoglobin and carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

Medical Definition

red blood cell

noun

: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and are responsible for the red color of vertebrate blood

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

compare white blood cell