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 survival rate jumps to 90% if the treatments, which employ special antibodies, are given soon after infection. — The Economist, "Politics this week," 15 Aug. 2019 Last year, 833 chickens tested positive for West Nile and 154 showed antibodies for EEEV. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Rare, Mosquito-Borne Virus Found in Several Chickens in Florida," 1 Aug. 2019 Later, the pharmacopoeia expanded to include large and complex proteins—from insulin to monoclonal antibodies. — Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, "The Promise and Price of Cellular Therapies," 15 July 2019 Total compensation: $16,560,445 Shareholder return: 13 percent Quidel is a long-time San Diego life sciences company, making products used in diagnosing infectious diseases, identifying antibodies and dealing with reproductive health issues. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "How the 16 highest-paid CEOs of San Diego public companies made their money," 14 July 2019 Most people and animals fight off the virus and develop antibodies against future infection. — USA TODAY, "Tubing, Hemingway, great white sharks: News from around our 50 states," 21 July 2019 His body had developed antibodies to pursue the protein and attack the cancer. — Taylor Kate Brown, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: Man beats cancer, only to face another health crisis," 15 July 2019 Two are cocktails that combine three antibodies — ZMapp, which was tested in West Africa, and a product made by Regeneron called REGN3470-3471-3479, which has already completed a small Phase 1 trial. — Helen Branswell, STAT, "Ebola outbreak opens way to chaotic jockeying to test experimental drugs," 30 May 2018 This finding suggests that the antibodies are heritable risk factors for autism. — Nicholette Zeliadt, Washington Post, "Taking folic acid may lower the risk of autism and ease features of the condition," 2 Apr. 2018These 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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