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cytotoxic

British  
/ ˌsaɪtəʊtɒkˈsɪsɪtɪ, ˌsaɪtəʊˈtɒksɪk /

adjective

  1. poisonous to living cells: denoting certain drugs used in the treatment of leukaemia and other cancers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • cytotoxicity noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Single-cell analyses show an unusual expansion of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells that behave more like CD8+ immune cells.

From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026

The fading-down process works as follows: Specific antibodies coupled to a cytotoxic drug recognize all blood cells in the patient's body based on a surface structure.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2024

The scientists had previously discovered that the formation of abnormal or "bad" myelin in these mice leads to an inflammatory reaction comprising an accumulation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2023

Their lungs should have been home to a diverse bunch of CD4+ T cell types but, in this group, more than 65 per cent of their cells were cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells.

From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2023

There are three types of T cells: cytotoxic, helper, and suppressor T cells.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022