Also called pons Varolii. a band of nerve fibers in the brain connecting the lobes of the midbrain, medulla, and cerebrum.
any tissue connecting two parts of a body organ or structure.
a bridge of connecting tissue
short for pons Varolii
1685–95; < Latin pōns bridge ( see punt 1)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Han's team hypothesized that certain emotions or behaviors could lead cortical neurons to activate the pons, which would then lower activity in the medulla, resulting in slower breath.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
However, messages coming down from the pons actually inhibit activity in the medulla, leading breathing rates to slow down.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
The cerebellum helps coordinate skeletal muscle activity, and the medulla oblongata and pons in the brainstem are centers for vital functions, such as breathing and heart rate.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The most significant connection between the cerebellum and the rest of the brain is at the pons, because the pons and cerebellum develop out of the same vesicle.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
What's the pons For you to cross to fame?—Your head in bronze?
From Songs and Satires by Masters, Edgar Lee
“The mood of people was no joy,” Pons said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
Jordi Pons: I remember when Rashford was young and promised so much.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
Retired banker and longtime Republican activist Lori Marie Pesta and retired airline pilot Mike Pons are running against Loudermilk in the 11th Congressional District northwest of Atlanta.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
“She was not a helpless 93-year-old woman,” Pons said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Good pastry is vended In Cité Fadette,— Madame Pons constructs splendid Brioche and galette!
From A Selection from the Works of Frederick Locker by Locker-Lampson, Hannah Jane
Where this great road crosses streams and might reasonably be lost, at its pontes, its bridges, it has remained, and is of such importance as to have given a name to a whole countryside--Ponthieu.
From First and Last by Belloc, Hilaire
After passing through the pontes they received the voting tablets at the entrance of the septa.
From Plutarch's Lives, Volume II by Stewart, Aubrey
This is now a sacred island, lying by the city, adorned with temples of the gods, and walks, and is called in the Latin tongue inter duos pontes.
From Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans by Clough, Arthur Hugh
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
