neuron

American  

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

especially British, neurone

noun

• neurons
  plural

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 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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• neuronal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• neurons
  plural

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

See Examples For:

neuron neurons

If an artificial "twin" requires greater complexity to imitate the behavior of a biological neuron, then the biological neuron itself has greater computational power.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

Research involving specific neuron types in rats has been more difficult because those cells are harder to target precisely.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

When the researchers suppressed orexin neuron activity using an inhibitory protein, the animals showed less motivated behavior.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

The team next used fiber photometry to monitor orexin neuron activity in real time while the rats waited for and received food.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

The distinguished historian Tony Judt, who died in mid-2010 of motor neuron disease, used it to compose essays after his degenerative disease robbed him of the ability to move.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

These neurons are located in the central amygdala, an area of the brain involved in processing fear and stress.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Plaques are abnormal deposits of a protein called amyloid beta that accumulate between brain cells, while tangles are twisted forms of the tau protein that develop inside neurons.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Our sense of self, he writes, arises “with the help of an estimated 86 billion neurons, or brain cells, making a hundred trillion different synaptic connections.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Rather than replacing lost muscle or neurons, the approach is aimed at making existing muscle fibers more responsive to the messages they receive.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

But I see how it could look like a brain, like if all roads were twisted neurons, pulling your emotions from one place to another, bringing the city to life.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini