or phagocytise (ˈfæɡəsɪˌtaɪz) or phagocytose (ˈfæɡəsɪˌtəʊs)
verb(transitive)
biology
to carry out phagocytosis
macrophages phagocytize apoptotic cells
phagocytize in American English
(ˈfæɡəˌsaitaiz, -sɪˌtaiz)
transitive verbWord forms: -ized, -izing
(of a phagocyte)
to devour (material)
Alsoesp Britphagocytise
Word origin
[1920–25; phagocyte + -ize]This word is first recorded in the period 1920–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: audio, checkout, fundamentalism, ski jump, tie-in-ize is a verb-forming suffix occurring originally in loanwords from Greek that have enteredEnglish through Latin or French (baptize; barbarize; catechize); within English, -ize is added to adjectives and nouns to form transitive verbs with the general senses“to render, make” (actualize; fossilize; sterilize; Americanize), “to convert into, give a specified character or form to” (computerize; dramatize; itemize; motorize), “to subject to (as a process, sometimes named after its originator)” (hospitalize; terrorize; galvanize; oxidize; simonize; winterize). Also formed with -ize are a more heterogeneous group of verbs, usually intransitive, denoting a changeof state (crystallize), kinds or instances of behavior (apologize; moralize; tyrannize), or activities (economize; philosophize; theorize)
Examples of 'phagocytize' in a sentence
phagocytize
Dispersed hemocytes were obtained after kidney collagenase digestion and cell sorting, and they were able to phagocytize fluorescent beads.
Juan A. Cueto, Cristian Rodriguez, Israel A. Vega, Alfredo Castro-Vazquez 2015, 'Immune Defenses of the Invasive Apple Snail Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda,Ampullariidae): Phagocytic Hemocytes in the Circulation and the Kidney', PLOS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0123964. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
The results obtained demonstrate modulation of hemocyte viability and the ability of these cells to phagocytize in absence of contaminants.
Alexandre Beaudry, Marlène Fortier, Stéphane Masson, Michel Auffret, Pauline Brousseau,Michel Fournier 2016, 'Effect of temperature on immunocompetence of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis)', Journal of Xenobioticshttp://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/xeno/article/view/5889. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)