dendrite

American  

[den-drahyt] / ˈdɛn draɪt /

noun

1. Petrology, Mineralogy.

   1. a branching figure or marking, resembling moss or a shrub or tree in form, found on or in certain stones or minerals due to the presence of a foreign material.

   2. any arborescent crystalline growth.

2. Anatomy. the branching process of a neuron that conducts impulses toward the cell.

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dendrite British  

/ ˈdɛndraɪt /

noun

1. Also called: dendron.  any of the short branched threadlike extensions of a nerve cell, which conduct impulses towards the cell body

2. a branching mosslike crystalline structure in some rocks and minerals

3. a crystal that has branched during growth and has a treelike form

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dendrite Scientific  

/ dĕn′drīt′ /

1. Any of several parts branching from the body of a neuron that receive and transmit nerve impulses.

2. A mineral that has a branching crystal pattern. Dendrites often form within or on the surface of other minerals and often consist of manganese oxides.

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Other Word Forms

• dendritic
  adjective
• dendritically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of dendrite

1720–30; < Greek dendrī́tēs pertaining to a tree, equivalent to dendr- dendr- + -ītēs -ite ¹

Explanation

In biology, a dendrite is a thin fiber that extends from a nerve cell. The job of a dendrite is to pass along electric signals it receives from other cells. Cells that carry electrical signals or impulses are known as neurons, and the specialized branches on neurons that do the work of receiving and sending these signals are dendrites. Some cells have thousands of dendrites, and each carries a small electrical current when it's working. These fibers are often described as "branches," a reference to their structure — and in fact, the word dendrite comes from the Greek dendron, "tree."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dendrite

One specific section of the dendrite contained an unusually dense concentration of dendritic spines, forming what the researchers call a "hotspot."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2026

Among the many observations that researchers will unpack in future studies, one stood out: the team noted that a certain protein stood out for its prolific binding of mRNA in the dendrite.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2024

He and Postdoctoral Associate Hongli Wan began to develop a theory for the formation of lithium dendrite growth in 2021; it remains a matter of scientific debate, the researchers said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2023

These cells are bipolar neurons with a dendrite facing the interior space of the nasal cavity and an axon that travels along the olfactory nerve to the olfactory bulb.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Carlyle pushes his mop toward a cowering batch of them, and they skitter away on purple little dendrite legs.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman