gray matter

American  

noun

1. Anatomy. nerve tissue, especially of the brain and spinal cord, that contains fibers and nerve cell bodies and is dark reddish-gray.

2. Informal. brains or intellect.

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gray matter Scientific  

1. The brownish-gray tissue of the vertebrate brain and spinal cord, made up chiefly of the cell bodies and dendrites of neurons.

2. Compare white matter

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gray matter Idioms  

1. Brains, intellect, as in If you'd only use your gray matter, you'd see the answer in a minute. This expression refers to actual brain tissue that is gray in color. Agatha Christie's fictional detective, Hercule Poirot, constantly alludes to using the little gray cells for solving a crime. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of gray matter

First recorded in 1830–40

Compare meaning

How does gray-matter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gray matter vs. white matter

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gray matter

The results showed that lower pulmonary gas exchange may be associated with cognitive dysfunction, as well as lower gray matter and white matter volumes in patients with long COVID.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024

AFM attacks motor neurons in the spinal cord’s gray matter, which controls movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2024

"We looked at APOE4, which is a main genetic factor related to dementia, and it was not related to gray matter thickness at all," Satizabal said.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2024

The animals were, essentially, processing what just happened, allowing their tiny nuggets of gray matter to drift along and make sense of these curious humans’ images.

From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2024

It’s the proverbial gray matter, the most evolved part, he explains, the part that makes us human.

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