neural network
Americannoun
-
any group of neurons that conduct impulses in a coordinated manner, as the assemblages of brain cells that record a visual stimulus.
-
Also called neural net. Computers. a hardware or software system in which weighted connections between data nodes are refined to produce increasingly accurate results in information processing, as in pattern recognition or problem solving, with the goal of algorithmic computing that requires minimal human intervention.
noun
-
an interconnected system of neurons, as in the brain or other parts of the nervous system
-
Also called: neural net. an analogous network of electronic components, esp one in a computer designed to mimic the operation of the human brain
Etymology
Origin of neural network
First recorded in 1985–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And in 2024 researchers at Harvard University developed a neural network model called TxGNN to surface existing drugs which could be used to treat rare conditions.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
To make this possible, the research team trained a neural network to recognize how temperature patterns on the ocean surface shift and change shape under the influence of currents.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026
“We spent years developing the mathematical theory required to compress a neural network without losing its reasoning capabilities,” said Hassibi, chief executive of the venture.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
They are credited with proposing the first mathematical model of a neural network to explain how the brain’s biological connectivity produces complexity—thus leading to a computational theory of the mind.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
And these technological therapies would have to be constructed, she said, so that they don’t invite their own side effects, like, say, overbuilding one neural network.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
