neural network

American  

[noor-uhl net-wurk, nyoor-uhl] / ˈnʊr əl ˈnɛtˌwɜrk, ˈnyʊr əl /

noun

1. any group of neurons that conduct impulses in a coordinated manner, as the assemblages of brain cells that record a visual stimulus.

2. Also called neural net.  Computers. a hardware or software system in which weighted connections between data nodes are refined to produce increasingly accurate results in information processing, as in pattern recognition or problem solving, with the goal of algorithmic computing that requires minimal human intervention.

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neural network British  

noun

1. an interconnected system of neurons, as in the brain or other parts of the nervous system

2. Also called: neural net.  an analogous network of electronic components, esp one in a computer designed to mimic the operation of the human brain

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Etymology

Origin of neural network

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

By combining a custom neural network with laboratory data from a dusty plasma, the team showed that artificial intelligence can do more than analyze data or make predictions.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

"Based on the principle of polarization holography, we used a deep learning architecture known as a convolutional neural network model to enable the use of polarization as an independent information dimension."

From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026

The computational model of a neural network mimicked the owl’s auditory map—the flow of auditory information—which helped Rumelhart derive a theory about how the owl’s system developed and worked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

They are credited with proposing the first mathematical model of a neural network to explain how the brain’s biological connectivity produces complexity—thus leading to a computational theory of the mind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Until the middle of the nineteenth century that thinking symbolized the prevailing scientific thought about the human neural network.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel