neuron

[ noor-on, nyoor- ]

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.

neuron

/ 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

Other Words From

• neu·ron·al [noor, -, uh, -nl, nyoor, -, n, oo, -, rohn, -l, ny, oo, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of neuron¹

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

Example Sentences

One relies on the neuron, which determines based on input whether it should “fire”—that is, pass on the data to its neighbor.

From Singularity Hub 

For example, this might arise from the way that huge numbers of neurons organize themselves into groups, which then form larger regions that work together.

From Quanta Magazine

Similarly, he introduced the term neuron before scientists had even reached agreement on whether such cells existed.

From Science News

This holds rather unnerving implications, in that the neurons solely reflect someone else’s specific perspective—your perspective, or the truth, doesn’t come into play.

From Singularity Hub 

Deep learning algorithms work by getting layers of artificial neurons to learn increasingly complex features of an image or other data type, which are then used to categorize new data.

From Singularity Hub 

Aren't all facts, at the neuron and synapse level, really the same?

From The Daily Beast

Hawking, 71, has been suffering from the debilitating motor neuron disease ALS for half a century.

From The Daily Beast

The current issue of Neuron features a new study on selective memory erasure.

From The Daily Beast

These are transferred from neuron to neuron through the synapse.

From Project Gutenberg

Even though the peripheral neuron may be suffering to some extent, this is true.

From Project Gutenberg

The contact of the axon of one neuron with the dendrons of another is called a synapse.

From Project Gutenberg

That is not a loss of memory but a failure of neuron connections.

From Project Gutenberg

Every efferent neuron in his system carried the message full power.

From Project Gutenberg