spleen
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.
Obsolete. this organ conceived of as the seat of spirit and courage or of such emotions as mirth, ill humor, melancholy, etc.
ill humor, peevish temper, or spite.
Archaic. melancholy.
Obsolete. caprice.
Origin of spleen
1Other words for spleen
Other words from spleen
- spleenish, adjective
- un·spleen·ish, adjective
- un·spleen·ish·ly, adverb
Words Nearby spleen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use spleen in a sentence
She is keeping her children home because their father does not have a spleen, which makes him more vulnerable to the virus.
Kids are returning to classrooms. But what will happen to those who stay at home? | Hannah Natanson, Donna St. George | April 11, 2021 | Washington PostWe’ve seen the abuses, heard all the excuses, And don’t care if you vent your spleen.
Style Invitational Week 1424: We Bee back — a neologism contest | Pat Myers | February 18, 2021 | Washington PostThere’s some evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can interfere with immune processes in the lymph nodes and spleen in ways that might prevent the immune system from “remembering” the virus if it sees it again.
Already had COVID-19? You still need a vaccine. | Kate Baggaley | January 15, 2021 | Popular-ScienceOnce inside a cell, the parasite produces proteins that dock on the cell’s exterior and make it stick to blood vessels so that it won’t be carried to the spleen, where it would otherwise get removed from the body.
How malaria parasites hide from the human immune system | Erin Garcia de Jesus | October 26, 2020 | Science NewsBack in the 90s, scientists found that pinching this spot can activate nerves that lead to the spleen, which produces immune cells and is a major regulator of inflammation.
We Need New, Safer Ways to Treat Pain. Could Electroacupuncture Be One? | Shelly Fan | August 18, 2020 | Singularity Hub
Internal organs like the spleen swell up and become as hard as sausages.
Already Deadly in Africa, Could Ebola Hit America Next? | Scott Bixby | April 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs with pretty much everything the former governor does, this is all about Venting the spleen of Sarah.
Sarah Palin Serves Up a Healthy Serving of Venom in Her Christmas Book | Michelle Cottle | November 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTNot that Cheney, even at his frailest, ever failed to vent his spleen with impressive vigor.
Dick Cheney Is Back and Rejuvenated, and That’s Bad News for the GOP | Michelle Cottle | October 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe shot damaged his liver, lungs, pancreas and spleen and has left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The internal injuries cost him his spleen and part of his pancreas, but he could skate without those.
Large mononuclear leukocytes probably originate in the bone-marrow or spleen.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWould you mind telling me what made you so confident that the spleen had nothing to do with the complication?
Red Pepper Burns | Grace S. RichmondAnd really when one hath the spleen, every thing is to be excusd by a Friend.
The Beggar's Opera | John GayIf they could make all the pleasures of life into one cordial they would swallow it at a draught in a fit of sentimental spleen.
Leonora | Maria EdgeworthThere was the surly old curmudgeon in whom the author vents his spleen, and who draws up eccentric wills.
The English Stage | Augustin Filon
British Dictionary definitions for spleen
/ (spliːn) /
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: Related adjectives: lienal, splenetic, splenic
the corresponding organ in other animals
spitefulness or ill humour; peevishness: to vent one's spleen
archaic the organ in the human body considered to be the seat of the emotions
archaic another word for melancholy
obsolete whim; mood
Origin of spleen
1Derived forms of spleen
- spleenish or spleeny, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for spleen
[ splēn ]
An organ in vertebrate animals that in humans is located on the left side of the abdomen near the stomach. The spleen is mainly composed of lymph nodes and blood vessels. It filters the blood, stores red blood cells (erythrocytes) and destroys old ones, and produces white blood cells (lymphocytes).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for spleen
An organ in the lymphatic system, in the upper left part of the abdomen, that filters out harmful substances from the blood. The spleen also produces white blood cells, removes worn-out red blood cells from circulation, and maintains a reserve blood supply for the body.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with spleen
see vent one's spleen.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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