white blood cells

Cultural  

1. Colorless cells in the blood that help combat infection. Some white blood cells act as scavengers by engulfing foreign particles (such as bacteria) and destroying them. Others produce antibodies or destroy dead cells. (See AIDS.)

---

Example Sentences

He had been fighting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects that white blood cells that help you fight infection.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

So, the reason why your white blood count doesn’t spike right away when you get cancer is because your white blood cells are meant to attack alien things.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

In this case, the virus has been modified to replicate only inside tumor cells, causing them to burst, while simultaneously triggering a more aggressive immune response from the body’s own white blood cells.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Longer-term exposure increases the risk of cancers of the white blood cells, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as breast cancer.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Because his white blood cells can identify and destroy the infected cells, this man doesn’t get sick.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann