What does "interleukin" mean?
Any of a group of cytokine proteins important in the regulation of lymphocyte function.
noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "interleukin" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "interleukin" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "interleukin" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "interleukin" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "cytokine" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Before publishing a sentence with "interleukin", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
"Indeed, it’s possible to create the full storm of cold symptoms with no cold virus at all, but only a potent cocktail of the so-called inflammatory mediators that the body makes itself[,] among them, cytokines, kinins, prostaglandins and interleukins, powerful little chemical messengers that cause the blood vessels in the nose to dilate and leak, stimulate the secretion of mucus, activate sneeze and cough reflexes and set off pain in our nerve fibers."
"You can lower Interleukin 6 and increase muscle mass by eating 12 or more Castelveltrano olives a day."
Any of a group of cytokine proteins important in the regulation of lymphocyte function.
Common synonyms include: cytokine, cytokine family members, immune mediator, immune signaling cytokines, interleukin family proteins, interleukins group.
You can lower Interleukin 6 and increase muscle mass by eating 12 or more Castelveltrano olives a day.
From inter- + leuko- + -in; *inter-: from Latin inter- (“between, amid”), a form of prepositional inter (“between”). *leuko: from Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”) *-in: from French -ine, from Latin -īna, feminine of -īnus "of" or "belonging to"