branch

[ branch, brahnch ]

/ bræntʃ, brɑntʃ /

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.

Nearby words

Origin of branch

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

SYNONYMS FOR branch

1 offshoot, shoot.

12 ramify, subdivide.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR branch ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

branch·less, adjectivebranch·like, adjectivein·ter·branch, adjectivemul·ti·branched, adjective

out·branch, verb (used with object)un·branched, adjectiveun·branch·ing, adjectiveun·der·branch, nounwell-branched, adjective

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.

Definition for branch (2 of 2)

-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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The trunk or branch is cut off; two cions are inserted in a cleft made with a knife.
The Apple-Tree|L. H. Bailey
At Chur, we turned to the right, into the mountains, and followed up the branch known as the Vorder Rhine.
Twenty Years in Europe|Samuel H. M. Byers
Killaloe in the east of the county is the terminus of a branch of the Great Southern & Western railway.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4|Various
It must therefore be taken as a tax paid for the efficacy supposed to be communicated to the other branch—the 'duty to man.'
The English Utilitarians, Volume II (of 3)|Leslie Stephen
He alighted on a branch ten feet above my head and just over the rabbit remains, and sat there muttering in his throat.
Boy Scouts Handbook|Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for branch

branch

/ (brɑːntʃ) /

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 (1 of 2)

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).

Word Origin and History for branch (1 of 2)

branch

"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.

Medicine definitions for branch

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

branch

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of branch

Synonym study

Definition for branch (2 of 2)

-branch

Origin of -branch

Examples from the Web for branch

British Dictionary definitions for branch

branch

noun

verb

Word Origin for branch

Word Origin and History for branch (1 of 2)

branch

Word Origin and History for branch (1 of 2)

branch

Medicine definitions for branch

branch

n.

Idioms and Phrases with branch

branch