antibody
any of numerous Y-shaped protein molecules produced by B cells as a primary immune defense, each molecule and its clones having a unique binding site that can combine with the complementary site of a foreign antigen, as on a virus or bacterium, thereby disabling the antigen and signaling other immune defenses. Abbreviation: Ab
antibodies of a particular type collectively.
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Origin of antibody
1- Also called immunoglobulin.
Words that may be confused with antibody
- antibody , anybody
Words Nearby antibody
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use antibody in a sentence
It can be done via a vaccine or via prior illness that you develop the antibodies.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump | Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 16, 2020 | Washington PostWe want better treatments, yes, but we also want to have enough people with antibodies against the virus that it can’t easily jump across different populations.
The problem with Trump’s ‘herd mentality’ line isn’t the verbal flub. It’s the mass death. | Philip Bump | September 16, 2020 | Washington PostCalled nanobodies, these proteins help fight off invaders in the body, but are smaller and thought to be hardier than their human antibody kin.
Treatments that target the coronavirus in the nose might help prevent COVID-19 | Laura Sanders | September 14, 2020 | Science NewsThe idea is that a small enough dose of the virus will prevent the person from getting severely ill but will be enough that their immune system’s develop antibodies for future protection.
Wearing a mask could protect you from COVID-19 in more ways than you think | Kat Eschner | September 10, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIf plasma wasn’t tested for antibody levels, well—it was probably better than nothing.
Why the FDA authorized just one test to classify all Covid-19 plasma | Katherine Ellen Foley | September 9, 2020 | Quartz
Most people—at least 95 percent of adults—have pre-existing antibody to measles.
In general, a person who has had an infection maintains detectable antibody against that infection for life.
She, unlike the other millions, has no detectable antibody to HIV.
For example, though I had chicken pox decades ago, I still have antibody to chicken pox.
But in health, people with HIV always maintain readily detectable antibody.
I should say the antibody titer has reached the danger point.
Category Phoenix | Boyd EllanbyIf this is a virus infection, we might only need to find an antibody for inoculation to stop it in its tracks.
Star Surgeon | Alan NourseControls were needed, to be certain that the antibody suspension alone was bringing about the changes seen and not something else.
Star Surgeon | Alan NourseBack aboard the ship they started preparing a larger quantity of the antibody suspension.
Star Surgeon | Alan NoursePreliminary skin-tests of the antibody suspension showed no sign of untoward reaction.
Star Surgeon | Alan Nourse
British Dictionary definitions for antibody
/ (ˈæntɪˌbɒdɪ) /
any of various proteins produced in the blood in response to the presence of an antigen. By becoming attached to antigens on infectious organisms antibodies can render them harmless or cause them to be destroyed: See also immunoglobulin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for antibody
[ ăn′tĭ-bŏd′ē ]
Any of numerous proteins produced by B lymphocytes in response to the presence of specific foreign antigens, including microorganisms and toxins. Antibodies consist of two pairs of polypeptide chains, called heavy chains and light chains, that are arranged in a Y-shape. The two tips of the Y are the regions that bind to antigens and deactivate them. Also called immunoglobulin
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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