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, dɛnˈdrɪtɪk /

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

Example Sentences

The research team found that SCFAs such as acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric acids induce dendrite elongation by inhibiting an enzyme called histone deacetylase.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

The new battery structure adds a fluorine-rich interlayer that stabilizes the cathode side, as well as a modification of the anode's interlayer with magnesium and bismuth -- suppressing the lithium dendrite.

From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2023

For instance, everyone knows the classic snowflake shape, which is technically known as a dendrite, he says.

From Washington Post • Jan. 22, 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