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sickle cell

American  

noun

Pathology.
  • sickle cells
    plural
  1. an abnormal red blood cell having an elongated, crescentlike shape due to the presence of an abnormal hemoglobin.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of sickle cell

First recorded in 1925–30; so called from the fact that the cells are often sickle-shaped

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.

See Examples For:

The court heard that the child also had sickle cell disease, which complicated the operation and increased the potential need for a blood transfusion.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The father of a teenager from Guinea with sickle cell disease who died days after he was arrested for cheating in an exam has told the BBC he blames the authorities for his death.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company said it has discontinued its pociredir program for the treatment of sickle cell disease and launched “a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

A model of how one of GluBio’s experimental ‘molecular glue’ drugs causes two proteins in the human body, WIZ and cereblon, to stick to each other in a way designed to relieve sickle cell disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

Everywhere you turned there were college students in T-shirts, signing people up for sickle cell anemia testing and voter registration.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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