all-or-none

[ ôl′ər-nŭn ]


  1. Characterized by either a complete response or by a total lack of response or effect, depending on the strength of the stimulus. Neurons have an all-or-none response to impulse transmission and cannot be partially stimulated.

Words Nearby all-or-none

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

How to use all-or-none in a sentence

  • It was an all-or-none reaction; the legs spurned the ground in perfect unison and with every bit of the power in them.

    Rastignac the Devil | Philip Jos Farmer