neural network

American  

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

“Remember, when you’re building a neural network, every GPU needs to have a path to every other GPU in the cluster,” Weeks says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

And in 2024 researchers at Harvard University developed a neural network model called TxGNN to surface existing drugs which could be used to treat rare conditions.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

"That meant we would have to design a neural network that could be trained with a small amount of data and still learn something new."

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

A physics-informed neural network processes this data by separating the wavelengths and reconstructing both intensity and phase over time.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 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