bleb

English

Etymology

Possibly formed through mimesis, similarly to blob and blubber

Pronunciation

• IPA: /blɛb/
• Rhymes: -ɛb

Noun

bleb (plural blebs)

1. A bubble, such as in paint or glass
2. (medicine) A large vesicle or bulla, usually containing a serous fluid
3. (cytology) An irregular bulge in the plasma membrane of a cell undergoing apoptosis
4. (geology) A bubble-like inclusion of one mineral within another

Synonyms

• (bubble): blister, bubble
• (large vesicle): blister

See also

• Bleb on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

bleb (third-person singular simple present blebs, present participle blebbing, simple past and past participle blebbed)

1. To form, or cause the formation of, blebs
   • 1821, John Clare, “The Cross Roads”, in The Village Minstrel and Other Poems^[1], page 84:

     And there, while big drops bow the grassy stems, / And bleb the withering hay with pearly gems,/ Dimple the brook, and patter in the leaves, / The song or tale ah hour's restraint relieves.

   • 1991, F. Zhang et al., “Lateral diffusion of membrane-spanning and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins”^[2], Journal of Cell Biology, volume 115: 

     Cells were blebbed by brief exposure (5-20 s) to 2 M NaCl-NaOH (pH 10.0) and then labeled with rhodamine-conjugated Fab fragments.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884-1928, and First Supplement, 1933