macrophage
noun
mac·ro·phage ˈma-krə-ˌfāj 
: a phagocytic tissue cell of the immune system that may be fixed or freely motile, is derived from a monocyte, functions in the destruction of foreign antigens (such as bacteria and viruses), and serves as an antigen-presenting cell compare histiocyte
macrophagic
ˌma-krə-ˈfa-jik
adjective 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web One tactic: the squalene in a foamy macrophage’s belly finds oxygen radicals – molecules that can kill acne bacteria – and incorporates them into its oily stew, neutralizing the threat, letting acne flourish. 
Isabella Cueto, STAT, 23 July 2022 No such monocyte or macrophage infection was seen in the control group of healthy blood donors. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2022 Otilimab is a monoclonal antibody against the granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, or GM-CSF, which stimulates the production of white blood cells. Matthew Herper, STAT, 27 Feb. 2021 Resolution Therapeutics, a macrophage cell therapy company, raised £26.8 million ($35 million). Lucinda Shen, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2020 Meanwhile, specialized white blood cells, called macrophages, gobble up free-floating virus as the body's first line of defense, according to Dr. Raphael Viscidi, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. USA Today, 18 May 2020 That observation suggested the macrophages were immunosuppressive. Esther Landhuis, Scientific American, 27 Mar. 2020 Vitamin D boosts the function of macrophages and T-cells, members of the immune system that fight pathogens attempting to enter the body. Jill Langlois, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2020 These bind with proteins on a virus’s surface, disabling it and marking it for destruction by cells called macrophages. The Economist, 1 Apr. 2020 See More
Isabella Cueto, STAT, 23 July 2022 No such monocyte or macrophage infection was seen in the control group of healthy blood donors. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2022 Otilimab is a monoclonal antibody against the granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, or GM-CSF, which stimulates the production of white blood cells. Matthew Herper, STAT, 27 Feb. 2021 Resolution Therapeutics, a macrophage cell therapy company, raised £26.8 million ($35 million). Lucinda Shen, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2020 Meanwhile, specialized white blood cells, called macrophages, gobble up free-floating virus as the body's first line of defense, according to Dr. Raphael Viscidi, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. USA Today, 18 May 2020 That observation suggested the macrophages were immunosuppressive. Esther Landhuis, Scientific American, 27 Mar. 2020 Vitamin D boosts the function of macrophages and T-cells, members of the immune system that fight pathogens attempting to enter the body. Jill Langlois, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2020 These bind with proteins on a virus’s surface, disabling it and marking it for destruction by cells called macrophages. The Economist, 1 Apr. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Makrophagen (plural), from makro- macro- + -phagen, plural of -phage -phage
Note: Introduced, along with Mikrophagen "microphages," by Élie metchnikoff in "Ueber den Kampf der Zellen gegen Erysipelkokken," Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie, Band 107 (1887), p. 222.
First Known Use
1887, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
macrophage
noun
mac·ro·phage ˈmak-rə-ˌfāj -ˌfäzh
-ˌfäzh : a phagocytic tissue cell of the immune system that may be fixed or freely motile, is derived from a monocyte, functions in the destruction of foreign antigens (as bacteria and viruses), and serves as an antigen-presenting cell see histiocyte, mononuclear phagocyte system