spleen
Americannoun
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spleens
plural
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a highly vascular, glandular, ductless organ, situated in humans at the cardiac end of the stomach, serving chiefly in the formation of mature lymphocytes, in the destruction of worn-out red blood cells, and as a reservoir for blood.
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Obsolete. this organ conceived of as the seat of spirit and courage or of such emotions as mirth, ill humor, melancholy, etc.
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ill humor, peevish temper, or spite.
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Archaic. melancholy.
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Obsolete. caprice.
noun
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a spongy highly vascular organ situated near the stomach in man. It forms lymphocytes, produces antibodies, aids in destroying worn-out red blood cells, and filters bacteria and foreign particles from the blood
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the corresponding organ in other animals
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spitefulness or ill humour; peevishness
to vent one's spleen
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archaic the organ in the human body considered to be the seat of the emotions
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archaic another word for melancholy
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obsolete whim; mood
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of spleen
1250–1300; Middle English < Latin splēn < Greek splḗn; akin to Sanskrit plīhan, Latin liēn spleen
Explanation
The spleen is an organ that's about the size of a fist, located on the left side, just below the ribcage. Don't let its small size fool you. This little organ is very important in helping the body fight infection. The spleen is responsible for removing old red blood cells and producing and storing a reserve of blood in case the body needs it. It's a little organ, measuring little more than four inches in length. The term "vent your spleen" is one you might see used. It means to vent your anger, as spleen is another word for bad temper or spite.
Vocabulary lists containing spleen
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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The Night Diary
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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.
See Examples For:
Measles can cause the spleen to enlarge, making it more likely to rupture.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Pennsylvania counted the death as one of two measles deaths, but the local coroner said the infant died from a ruptured spleen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Roughly 90% of circulating neutrophils eventually arrive in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, where other immune cells remove them.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Normal old mice accumulated senescent neutrophils in the liver, spleen and bone marrow.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
What he didn’t realize—what he couldn’t see because it was almost inconceivable—was that the entire spleen had become a solid clot of blood.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
They were looking at “scurfy” mice; males are unexpectedly born with flaky skin and enlarged spleens and only live for a few weeks, because their organs are attacked by their own immune cells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
Erewhon says the mix of uncooked beef livers, hearts, pancreases, kidneys and spleens swirling through the coconut cream in the beverage should not be considered “raw.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2024
When the researchers transfused red blood cells into the animals, macrophages in their spleens gobbled cells that had been exposed to CpG-laden DNA, but ate fewer red blood cells that hadn’t encountered the DNA.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 19, 2021
Yet this bedrock right to vent our spleens against officials is now being challenged.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2021
But these spleens had swelled up and turned as hard as a rock.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
