phagocyte
/ˈfeɪɡəsaɪt/ noun, verb
Forms phagocytes phagocyting phagocyted
- noun (cytology) A cell of the immune system, such as a neutrophil, macrophage or dendritic cell, that engulfs and destroys viruses, bacteria and waste materials, or in the case of mature dendritic cells; displays antigens from invading pathogens to cells of the lymphoid lineage.
- verb (transitive) To phagocytize
Synonyms
Etymology
From the German Phagocyt, modified on the pattern of -cyte; phago- + -cyte.
Either from the noun or from the French phagocyter.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “phagocyte”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details