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: a minute flattened body (as of ice or a mineral)
especially
: a minute colorless disklike body of mammalian blood that assists in blood clotting by adhering to other platelets and to damaged epithelium
called also blood platelet, thrombocyte
Examples of platelet in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The body accomplishes this by tightening the blood vessels (vasoconstriction), moving platelets to the injury site (platelet aggregation), and forming fibrin—a protein that helps blood clot.
—Michael Menna, Verywell Health, 17 Jan. 2025
Going off that premise, creators of Rion’s Plated Intense Serum purchase platelets from a blood bank to harness the type of exosome—an inter-cellular messenger—responsible for signaling cell renewal.
—Jessica Klein, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
This measures the amounts of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
—Doru Paul, Health, 10 Jan. 2025
These include preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count syndrome).
—Corey Whelan, Verywell Health, 1 Dec. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1888, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing platelet
Dictionary Entries Near platelet
Cite this Entry
“Platelet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/platelet. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
platelet
noun
plate·let
ˈplāt-lət
: one of the tiny colorless disk-shaped bodies of the blood of mammals that assist in blood clotting
Medical Definition
platelet
noun
plate·let
ˈplāt-lət
: a minute colorless anucleate disklike body of mammalian blood that is derived from fragments of megakaryocyte cytoplasm, that is released from the bone marrow into the blood, and that assists in blood clotting by adhering to other platelets and to damaged epithelium
called also blood platelet, thrombocyte
More from Merriam-Webster on platelet
Britannica English: Translation of platelet for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about platelet
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