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 cellExamples of red blood cell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body.2 Vitamin B12 deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia, causing tiredness and weakness.3
Folate (vitamin B9) deficiency is also linked to megaloblastic anemia.
—
Allison Herries, Verywell Health, 16 Apr. 2025
These tiny organisms invade red blood cells and reproduce there.
—Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
But the new finding published in the journal Blood shows that these stem cells, capable of producing a variety of cells including red blood cells and platelets which form blood clots and aid in tissue healing, are also found in the lungs.
—Victoria Forster, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Anemia is a condition of not having enough red blood cells or hemoglobin (an iron-rich protein within blood cells that binds to oxygen) to carry oxygen throughout the body.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for red blood cell
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Allison Herries, Verywell Health, 16 Apr. 2025
These tiny organisms invade red blood cells and reproduce there.
—Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
But the new finding published in the journal Blood shows that these stem cells, capable of producing a variety of cells including red blood cells and platelets which form blood clots and aid in tissue healing, are also found in the lungs.
—Victoria Forster, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Anemia is a condition of not having enough red blood cells or hemoglobin (an iron-rich protein within blood cells that binds to oxygen) to carry oxygen throughout the body.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for red blood cell
Cite this Entry
“Red blood cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20blood%20cell. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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