antibody
noun
an·ti·body
| \ ˈan-ti-ˌbä-dē
\
\
Definition of antibody
: any of a large number of proteins of high molecular weight that are produced normally by specialized B cells after stimulation by an antigen and act specifically against the antigen in an immune response, that are produced abnormally by some cancer cells, and that typically consist of four subunits including two heavy chains and two light chains
— called also immunoglobulin
Examples of antibody in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The two treatments that proved most effective—the ones being billed as potential Ebola cures—are both one-time deliveries of antibodies. — Lila Thulin, Smithsonian, "Researchers Have Finally Found an Effective Treatment for Ebola," 14 Aug. 2019 One of the drugs, REGN-EB3, is a cocktail of three monoclonal antibodies against Ebola made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of Tarrytown, New York. — Amy Maxmen, Scientific American, "Two Ebola Drugs Show Promise Amid Ongoing Outbreak," 13 Aug. 2019 During that episode, Muyembe attempted to treat patients with a mixture of antibodies from Ebola survivors. — Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, "Finally, some good news about Ebola: Two new treatments dramatically lower the death rate in a trial," 12 Aug. 2019 Another soldier who defected to South Korea sometime in 2017 was discovered to have traces of anthrax antibodies in his system, according to local media outlets. — Fox News, "North Korean soldier defects to South Korea, makes late-night dash across DMZ: officials," 1 Aug. 2019 To Eshhar, that looked a lot like the grabby protein claws of an antibody. — Charles Graeber, WIRED, "How Scientists Built a ‘Living Drug’ to Beat Cancer," 25 July 2019 Brantly, who was the first human to receive a dose of Ebola-fighting antibodies known as ZMapp, recovered. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "The Airplanes That Rescue Ebola Patients," 5 July 2019 Instead of looking at just one type of antibody at a time, as most tests require, he's created tiny biological sensors that can flag hundreds of thousands in one go. — National Geographic, "Measles vaccines protect against more than just measles. Here's how.," 4 Mar. 2019 The survival rate jumps to 90% if the treatments, which employ special antibodies, are given soon after infection. — The Economist, "Politics this week," 15 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antibody.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for antibody
antibody
noun
English Language Learners Definition of antibody
medical
: a substance produced by the body to fight disease
See the full definition for antibody in the English Language Learners Dictionary
antibody
noun
an·ti·body
| \ ˈan-ti-ˌbä-dē
\
\
plural antibodies
Kids Definition of antibody
: a substance produced by special cells of the body that counteracts the effects of a disease germ or its poisons
antibody
noun
an·ti·body
| \ ˈant-i-ˌbäd-ē
\
\
plural antibodies
Medical Definition of antibody
: any of a large number of proteins of high molecular weight that are produced normally by specialized B cells after stimulation by an antigen and act specifically against the antigen in an immune response, that are produced abnormally by some cancer cells, and that typically consist of four subunits including two heavy chains and two light chains
— called also immunoglobulin
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