branch

[branch, brahnch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR branch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a division or subdivision of the stem or axis of a tree, shrub, or other plant.

a limb, offshoot, or ramification of any main stem: the branches of a deer's antlers.

any member or part of a body or system; a section or subdivision: the various branches of learning.

a local operating division of a business, library, or the like.

a line of family descent stemming from a particular ancestor, as distinguished from some other line or lines from the same stock; a division of a family.

a tributary stream or any stream that is not a large river or a bayou.

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. branch water(def 2).

Linguistics. (in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a lower order than a subfamily and of a higher order than a subbranch or a group, as the Germanic branch of Indo-European.Compare group(def 4a).

Computers. a point in a computer program where the computer selects one of two or more instructions to execute, according to some criterion.

Nautical. a warrant or license permitting a pilot to navigate in certain waters.

verb (used without object)

to put forth branches; spread in branches.

to divide into separate parts or subdivisions; diverge: The main road branches off to the left.

to expand or extend, as business activities: The bank has plans to branch throughout the state.

verb (used with object)

to divide into branches or sections.

to adorn with needlework; decorate with embroidery, as in textile fabrics.

Verb Phrases

branch out, to expand or extend, as business activities, pursuits, interests, etc.: The business is branching out into computers.

Origin of branch

1250–1300; Middle English bra(u)nche < Anglo-French; Old French branche < Late Latin branca paw, of uncertain origin

Related formsbranch·less, adjectivebranch·like, adjectivein·ter·branch, adjectivemul·ti·branched, adjectiveout·branch, verb (used with object)un·branched, adjectiveun·branch·ing, adjectiveun·der·branch, nounwell-branched, adjective

Synonyms for branch

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR branch ON THESAURUS.COM

1. offshoot, shoot. 12. ramify, subdivide.

Synonym study

1. Branch, bough, limb refer to divisions of a tree. Branch is general, meaning either a large or a small division. Bough refers only to the larger branches: a bough loaded with apples. A limb is a large primary division of a tree trunk or of a bough: to climb out on a limb.

-branch

a combining form for forming nouns and adjectives that denote gill formations or animals having gill formations.

Origin of -branch

< French -branche, New Latin -branchia, from Latin branchiae “gills” (see branchia)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for branch

chapter, division, office, section, wing, member, bureau, subsidiary, arm, category, subdivision, extension, classification, annex, portion, dependency, connection, part, derivative, tributary

Examples from the Web for branch

Contemporary Examples of branch

Branch helped women feel beautiful by encouraging them to embrace their natural selves as she had.
Goodbye To A Natural Hair Guru: Miss Jessie's Cofounder Titi Branch Dead At 45
Danielle Belton
December 16, 2014
Branch grew up in Queens, NY, the daughter of an African American man and a Japanese woman.
Goodbye To A Natural Hair Guru: Miss Jessie's Cofounder Titi Branch Dead At 45
Danielle Belton
December 16, 2014
But at 45, Branch died of a reported suicide, leaving behind family, friends and a legacy that goes beyond the beauty industry.
Goodbye To A Natural Hair Guru: Miss Jessie's Cofounder Titi Branch Dead At 45
Danielle Belton
December 16, 2014
His case was sent to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati.
Iran’s Blogfather Walks Free After Six Years in Jail
IranWire
November 21, 2014
In other words, the Supreme Court has defined democracy as a branch of capitalism, right up to the point of actual vote-buying.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface
Jedediah Purdy
November 12, 2014

Historical Examples of branch

Caricature, by the way, is a branch of Georgian Art which M. Rouquet neglects.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
Lieutenant Ford was wounded and a branch of an artery was cut.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Just as he dropped a branch down at her feet, she caught the sound of wheels.
The Little Colonel
Annie Fellows Johnston
At this moment, the note of a bird sounded from the branch of a neighboring tree.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Accordingly, Jason took the branch at its word, and lopped it off the tree.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for branch

branch

noun

a secondary woody stem arising from the trunk or bough of a tree or the main stem of a shrub

a subdivision of the stem or root of any other plant

an offshoot or secondary parta branch of a deer's antlers

a subdivision or subsidiary section of something larger or more complexbranches of learning; branch of the family
(as modifier)a branch office

US any small stream

maths a section of a curve separated from the rest of the curve by discontinuities or special points

Also called: jump computing a departure from the normal sequence of programmed instructions into a separate program area

an alternative route in an atomic or nuclear decay series

verb

(intr) (of a tree or other plant) to produce or possess branches

(intr usually foll by from) (of stems, roots, etc) to grow and diverge (from another part)

to divide or be divided into subsidiaries or offshoots

(intr often foll by off) to diverge from the main way, road, topic, etc

Word Origin for branch

C13: from Old French branche, from Late Latin branca paw, foot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for branch

c.1300, braunch, "limb of a tree" (also used of things analogous to it, especially geographic features), from Old French branche "branch, bough, twig; branch of a family" (12c.), from Late Latin branca "footprint," later "a claw, paw," of unknown origin, probably from Gaulish. The connecting notion would be the shape (cf. pedigree). Replaced native bough. Meaning "local office of a business" is first recorded 1817, from earlier sense of "component part of a system" (1690s).

"send out shoots or new limbs," late 14c., also, of blood vessels, family trees, etc., "to be forked," from branch (n.). Meaning "to spread out from a center, radiate" is from c.1400. Related: Branched; branching.

branch in Medicine

branch

[brănch]

n.

An offshoot or a division of the main portion of a structure, especially that of a nerve, blood vessel, or lymphatic vessel; a ramus.

Idioms and Phrases with branch

branch

In addition to the idioms beginning with branch

branch off
branch out

also see:

olive branch
root and branch