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.

Origin of neuron

1
First recorded in 1880–85, neuron is from the Greek word neûron sinew, cord, nerve
  • Also especially British, neu·rone [noor-ohn, nyoor-]. /ˈnʊər oʊn, ˈnyʊər-/.

Other words from neuron

  • neu·ron·al [noor-uh-nl, nyoor-, noo-rohn-l, nyoo-], /ˈnʊər ə nl, ˈnyʊər-, nʊˈroʊn l, nyʊ-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use neuron in a sentence

  • Some neurones in the human body, although visible only under the compound microscope, give rise to axons several feet in length.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • At the base of these hairs are found neurones which send axons inward to the central nervous system.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • Each taste bud consists of a collection of spindle-shaped neurones, each cell tipped at its outer end with a hairlike projection.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • Maybe his secretary's two neurones would fail to synapse this morning, and she'd lose them altogether.

    Meeting of the Board | Alan Edward Nourse
  • Sense organs, neurones, and neuronic connections are certainly involved in the occurrence of a sense quality.

Scientific definitions for neuron

neuron

[ nurŏn′ ]


  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. Also called nerve cell

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.