dendrite

[ den-drahyt ]

/ ˈdɛn draɪt /

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noun

Petrology, Mineralogy.

a branching figure or marking, resembling moss or a shrub or tree in form, found on or in certain stones or minerals due to the presence of a foreign material.
any arborescent crystalline growth.

Anatomy. the branching process of a neuron that conducts impulses toward the cell.

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Origin of dendrite

1720–30; <Greek dendrī́tēs pertaining to a tree, equivalent to dendr-dendr- + -ītēs-ite¹

Words nearby dendrite

dendr-, dendra, dendri-, dendriform, dendrimer, dendrite, dendritic, dendritic cell, dendro-, dendrobium, dendrochronology

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dendrite in a sentence

The receiving neurons have special docking stations on their dendrites, known as receptors.
Search for ‘rewards’ is big driver in remodeling a teen’s brain|Silke Schmidt|April 22, 2021|Science News For Students
The neurotransmitters cross a narrow gap between cells to carry their message to a neighbor’s dendrites.
Search for ‘rewards’ is big driver in remodeling a teen’s brain|Silke Schmidt|April 22, 2021|Science News For Students
The dendrites send each impulse to the main part of the cell.
Explainer: What is a neuron?|Bryn St. Clair|April 22, 2021|Science News For Students
Chemicals released out of the cell here will then be picked up by the dendrites on a neighboring cell.
Explainer: What is a neuron?|Bryn St. Clair|April 22, 2021|Science News For Students

Another issue is that as the lithium ions flow back and forth, needle-like structures known as dendrites can form in the batteries and short-circuit the cell or cause it to catch fire.
Novel lithium-metal batteries will drive the switch to electric cars|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
These axon runners from one cell connect through synapses to dendrite runners on other cells.
Sequential Problem Solving|Fredric Lozo
Dendrite, den′drīt, n. a mineral in which are figures resembling plants.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for dendrite

dendrite

/ (ˈdɛndraɪt) /

noun

Also called: dendron any of the short branched threadlike extensions of a nerve cell, which conduct impulses towards the cell body

a branching mosslike crystalline structure in some rocks and minerals

a crystal that has branched during growth and has a treelike form

Derived forms of dendrite

dendritic (dɛnˈdrɪtɪk) or dendritical, adjectivedendritically, adverb

Word Origin for dendrite

C18: from Greek dendritēs relating to a tree

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

Scientific definitions for dendrite

dendrite

[ dĕn′drīt′ ]

Any of several parts branching from the body of a neuron that receive and transmit nerve impulses.

A mineral that has a branching crystal pattern. Dendrites often form within or on the surface of other minerals and often consist of manganese oxides.