Phagocytosis

//ˌfeɪ.ɡəʊ.saɪˈtəʊ.sɪs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A form of endocytosis in which a cell incorporates a particle by extending pseudopodia and drawing the particle into a vacuole of its cytoplasm. countable, uncountable

    "On account of the possession of this property, Metschnikoff has suggested for these groups of cells the term phagocytes, as expressive of their most distinctive feature, and for the process in general the term phagocytosis."

  2. 2
    process in which phagocytes engulf and digest microorganisms and cellular debris; an important defense against infection wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
endophagocytosisphagoptosis

Example

More examples

"On account of the possession of this property, Metschnikoff has suggested for these groups of cells the term phagocytes, as expressive of their most distinctive feature, and for the process in general the term phagocytosis."

Etymology

From German Phagocytosis; equivalent to phagocyte + -osis; compare French phagocytose.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.