Showing results for haemoglobin. Search instead for haemoglobins.

haemoglobin

British

/ ˌhɛm-, ˌhiːməʊˈɡləʊbɪn /

noun

a conjugated protein, consisting of haem and the protein globin, that gives red blood cells their characteristic colour. It combines reversibly with oxygen and is thus very important in the transportation of oxygen to tissues See also oxyhaemoglobin

"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 haemoglobin

C19: shortened from haematoglobulin, from _haematin + _globulin the two components

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.

The procedure, known as the haemoglobin A1C test, measures average blood sugar levels which are used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and monitor the condition.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025

It is caused by genetic change that means people make haemoglobin - a key protein in red blood cells - that doesn't work properly.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2025

It takes a course of chemotherapy to kill off the old stem cells that were producing broken haemoglobin, before the new ones can be put in.

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2024

So the therapy disables the switch - named BCL11A – so the adult body starts making fetal haemoglobin once again.

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2024

In contrast with this, in higher vertebrates the blood pressure is high and the haemoglobin content of the blood is high, consequently both rate of blood-flow and oxygen-content are high.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 1 "Bisharin" to "Bohea" by Various

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