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ferritin

American

[fer-i-tn] / ˈfɛr ɪ tn /

noun

Biochemistry.

an amber-colored, crystalline protein, found in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, that consists of apoferritin combined with a ferric hydroxide-ferric phosphate complex and that stores iron for use in metabolism.

ferritin British

/ ˈfɛrɪtɪn /

noun

biochem a protein that contains iron and plays a part in the storage of iron in the body. It occurs in the liver and spleen

"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

Etymology

Origin of ferritin

First recorded in 1935–40; ferrite + -in ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After several visits to her doctor, Rose requested a blood test which showed low levels of the protein ferritin.

From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025

In contrast, a vaccine based on a scaffold protein called ferritin, coated with SARS-CoV-2 antigens, generated many antibodies against ferritin as well as SARS-CoV-2.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2024

In January 2020, he started rapidly repurposing that work, crafting an experimental vaccine made up of a ferritin nanoparticle studded with coronavirus spike proteins.

From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2021

A serum ferritin is normally below 400 in our lab, mine was 18,000!

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2020

Once inside mucosal cells, ionic iron binds to the protein ferritin, creating iron-ferritin complexes that store iron until needed.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023