immune system

American  

noun

Anatomy.

• immune systems
  plural

1. a diffuse, complex network of interacting cells, cell products, and cell-forming tissues that protects the body from pathogens and other foreign substances, destroys infected and malignant cells, and removes cellular debris: the system includes the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes and lymph tissue, stem cells, white blood cells, antibodies, and lymphokines.

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immune system Scientific  

1. The body system in humans and other animals that protects the organism by distinguishing foreign tissue and neutralizing potentially pathogenic organisms or substances. The immune system includes organs such as the skin and mucous membranes, which provide an external barrier to infection, cells involved in the immune response, such as lymphocytes, and cell products such as lymphokines.

2. See also autoimmune disease immune response

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immune system Cultural  

1. The system in the body that works to ward off infection and disease. Central to this system are the white blood cells. Some white blood cells produce antibodies in response to specific antigens that may invade the body; others function as scavengers to fight infection by destroying bacteria and removing dead cells.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• immune systems
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of immune system

First recorded in 1960–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immune system

This unexpected behavior suggested that the 5-oxoETE pathway was doing something much more complicated than simply activating the immune system.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

The method uses components of CRISPR-Cas, another bacterial immune system, to record molecular activity inside cells.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

They act as messengers, telling cells what to do, and play vital roles in skin health, immune system and hormone regulation.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

These microbes interact with the immune system, produce biologically active compounds, and may even affect how the nervous system responds to pain.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

In this they are like hiv, which also destroys the immune system, but unlike the creeping onset of hiv, the attack by Ebola is explosive.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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