neuron

American  

[noor-on, nyoor-] / ˈnʊər ɒn, ˈnyʊər- /

especially British, neurone

noun

1. Cell Biology. a specialized, impulse-conducting cell that is the functional unit of the nervous system, consisting of the cell body and its processes, the axon and dendrites.

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neuron Scientific  

/ nr′ŏn′ /

1. A cell of the nervous system. Neurons typically consist of a cell body, which contains a nucleus and receives incoming nerve impulses, and an axon, which carries impulses away from the cell body.

2. Also called nerve cell

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Other Word Forms

• neuronal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of neuron

First recorded in 1880–85, neuron is from the Greek word neûron sinew, cord, nerve

Explanation

The cells in your nervous system are called neurons. Scientists believe there are approximately 90 billion neurons in your brain. You can also call a neuron a nerve cell, or a cell whose job it is to carry electrochemical messages throughout the nervous system. In the 1880s, neuron was used to mean "the brain and spinal column," or the nervous system itself. Later in the nineteenth century, neuron came to mean "nerve cell with appendages," from the Greek neuro-, "nerve."

Example Sentences

ALS, a progressive and terminal motor neuron disease, robs a person of the ability to move and, ultimately, to breathe, according to the Mayo Clinic.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

They combined single-cell sequencing, which identifies which receptors each neuron expresses, with spatial transcriptomics, which pinpoints where those neurons are located.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026

It assigns each neuron a unique RNA "barcode."

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

As the experiment progressed, the interaction between these two neuron groups became stronger.

From Science Daily • Mar. 24, 2026

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers, working largely with monkeys, identified a powerful, multifunctional type of neuron in the prefrontal cortex.

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