biconcave

American  

[bahy-kon-keyv, bahy-kon-keyv] / baɪˈkɒn keɪv, ˌbaɪ kɒnˈkeɪv /

adjective

1. concave on both sides, as a lens.

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biconcave British  

/ ˌbaɪkɒnˈkeɪv, baɪˈkɒnkeɪv, ˌbaɪkɒnˈkævɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (of a lens) having concave faces on both sides; concavo-concave

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biconcave Scientific  

/ bī′kŏn-kāv′ /

1. Concave on both sides or surfaces.

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Other Word Forms

• biconcavity noun

Etymology

Origin of biconcave

First recorded in 1825–35; bi- ¹ + concave

Example Sentences

This batch provided an answer: He had hereditary spherocytosis, a disease in which the red blood cells were tiny spheres rather than the usual biconcave discs.

From New York Times • May 16, 2023

In mammals, red blood cells are small biconcave cells that at maturity do not contain a nucleus or mitochondria and are only 7–8 µm in size.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

They are compact, flexible and shaped like biconcave disks, which helps them slip through narrow capillaries and gives them a high volume-to-surface area ration, so they can hold a lot of hemoglobin and oxygen.

From Scientific American • May 6, 2019

The viewer observes Mr. Jacobs’s teeming green worlds through a custom-ordered biconcave lens.

From New York Times • May 8, 2018

The Ichthyornis type was a tern-like flying bird, with socketed teeth and biconcave vertebrae like the reptile, but otherwise fully evolved into a bird.

From The Story of Evolution by McCabe, Joseph