noun
- a mass or lump.
- a semisolid mass, as of coagulated blood.
- a small compact group of individuals: a clot of sightseers massed at the entrance.
- British Informal. blockhead, dolt, clod.
verb (used without object), clot·ted, clot·ting.
- to form into clots; coagulate.
verb (used with object), clot·ted, clot·ting.
- to cause to clot.
- to cover with clots: Carefully aimed snowballs clotted the house.
- to cause to become blocked or obscured: to clot the book’s narrative with too many characters.
noun
- a soft thick lump or massa clot of blood
- British informal a stupid person; fool
verb clots, clotting or clotted
- to form or cause to form into a soft thick lump or lumps
n.Old English clott “a round mass, lump,” akin to Dutch kloot “ball,” Danish klods “a block, lump,” German Klotz “lump, block;” probably related to cleat and clod. v.early 15c., from clot (n.). Of fluids from 1590s. Related: Clotted; clotting. n.
- A soft, nonrigid, insoluble mass formed when blood or lymph gels.
v.
- To coagulate.
- A soft insoluble mass formed when blood or lymph gels. During blood clotting, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and various clotting factors interact in a cascade of chemical reactions initiated by a wound. When a body tissue is injured, calcium ions and platelets act on prothrombin to produce the enzyme thrombin. Thrombin then catalyzes the conversion of the protein fibrinogen into fibrin, a fibrous protein that holds the clot together. An abnormal clot inside the blood vessels or the heart (a thrombus or an embolus) can obstruct blood flow.