verb
- past tense and past participle of phagocytise; to engulf and destroy (bacteria, cells, or other particles) by means of phagocytosis
Usage: chiefly British spelling (American: phagocytized); technical/medical term; used in biology and immunology contexts
Examples
- The white blood cells phagocytised the invading bacteria within minutes.
- Once the pathogen was phagocytised, the immune response began to subside.
- Macrophages phagocytised the dead cells to prevent inflammation.
- The neutrophils phagocytised the foreign particles efficiently.
- Research showed that the immune cells phagocytised the virus-infected tissue.