immunology
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immunology
Explanation
Immunology is the science of body systems that protect against infection. It's thanks to immunology that we're able to treat and prevent so many diseases today. Immunology is formed by adding the suffix -ology, or "science," to immune, or "exempt from a disease." Scientists and doctors who specialize in immunology study the way our immune systems function (and sometimes malfunction) as they work to defend us from viruses and bacteria. Immunologists are also instrumental in creating vaccines against new diseases and promising treatments like cancer immunotherapy, which boost the patient's own immune system.
Vocabulary lists containing immunology
Microbiology - High School
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Microbiology - Middle School
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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.
Developing the treatment required scientists from several disciplines to work together, including specialists in microbiology, synthetic biology, oncology, and immunology.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Politicians are now asking how Britain - the country of Edward Jenner, the "father of immunology" - could have allowed its immunisation rates to drop so low, and what could fix it.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
AbbVie last month agreed to buy Apogee for about $10.9 billion, bolstering its core immunology franchise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
J&J’s pharmaceutical business logged a 7.8% gain, driven by cancer drugs like Darzalex and Carvykti, as well as immunology treatments like Tremfya and neuroscience drugs like Spravato.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The problem of olfactory sensing shares some of the current puzzles and confusions of immunology, apart from the business of telling self from non-self.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
