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.

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

Related Words for branched

rive, divide, separate, tear, splinter, isolate, rip, break, disband, crack, open, sever, traverse, span, unite, veer, deviate, stray, radiate, cut

Examples from the Web for branched

Contemporary Examples of branched

With a counter-part, Hawk, Don branched off and laid the foundations for what would eventually become the ZCompany Hacking Unit.
The Mujahideen Hackers Who 'Clean Facebook'
Brian Ries
January 27, 2011

Historical Examples of branched

The pole was about thirty feet high, and the top was branched like a pitchfork.
Rollo in Paris
Jacob Abbott
At last we branched off into what I guess was a sort of bridle path.
The Grammar School Boys of Gridley
H. Irving Hancock
"Maybe we've branched off, on to another trail," persisted Van.
Pluck on the Long Trail
Edwin L. Sabin
He was with us when we were at your place, and when we rode away he branched off.
The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch
Laura Lee Hope
The two friends talked for some time about this episode, and then branched off into other subjects.
The Opal Serpent
Fergus Hume

British Dictionary definitions for branched

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 branched

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).

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.

branched 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 branched

branch

In addition to the idioms beginning with branch

branch off
branch out

also see:

olive branch
root and branch