noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
US:hēʹmōglōʹbĭn
US:hēʹməglōʹbĭn
US:/ˌhimoʊˈɡloʊbɪn/
US:/ˈhiməˌɡloʊbɪn/
UK:/ˌhiːmə(ʊ)ˈɡləʊbɪn/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -əʊbɪn
CMU ARPABET:HH IY2 M AH0 G L OW1 B AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; it consists of a protein (globulin), and haem (a porphyrin ring with an atom of iron at its centre).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Hb, Hgb
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color; function primarily to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
fish have simpler hemoglobin than mammals
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: haemoglobin, Hb
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hemoprotein, haemoprotein
Narrower terms: oxyhemoglobin, oxyhaemoglobin
History
Etymology
Originally hematinoglobulin, from hematin (from Ancient Greek αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -in) + -o- + globulin (from Latin globus (“ball, sphere”) + -in).
Across languages
Translations
47 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
հեմոգլոբին
(hemoglobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Basque:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Bulgarian:
хемоглобин
(hemoglobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Catalan:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Chinese Mandarin:
血紅蛋白 /血红蛋白
(xiěhóngdànbái, xuèhóngdànbái)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Czech:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Esperanto:
hemoglobino
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Estonian:
hemoglobiin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Finnish:
hemoglobiini
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Finnish:
verenpuna
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
French:
hémoglobine
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Galician:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
German:
Blutfarbstoff
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
German:
Hämoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Greek:
αιμοσφαιρίνη
(aimosfairíni)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Hungarian:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Icelandic:
blóðrauða
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Ido:
hemoglobino
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Indonesian:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Interlingua:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Irish:
haemaglóibin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Italian:
emoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Japanese:
ヘモグロビン
(hemogurobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Japanese:
血色素
(kessikiso)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Japanese:
血液色素
(ketsueki-sikiso)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Kazakh:
гемоглобин
(gemoglobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Korean:
헤모글로빈
(hemogeullobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Korean:
혈색소
(hyeolsaekso)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Macedonian:
хемоглобин
(hemoglobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Malay:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Marathi:
हीमोग्लोबिन
(hīmoglobin)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Navajo:
dił bee łichíʼígíí
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Occitan:
emoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Polish:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Portuguese:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Romanian:
hemoglobină
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Russian:
гемоглоби́н
(gemoglobín)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Spanish:
hemoglobina
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Swahili:
hemoglobini
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Swedish:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Tagalog:
pula ng dugo
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Telugu:
రక్తవర్ణకము
(raktavarṇakamu)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Turkish:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Ukrainian:
гемоглобі́н
(hemohlobín)
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Vietnamese:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Welsh:
haemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
Welsh:
hemoglobin
— the iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen