variants
or less commonly axone
: a usually long and single nerve-cell process that usually conducts impulses away from the cell body see neuron illustration
Examples of axon in a Sentence
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Fascinatingly, a neuron’s cell body can measure a tenth of a millimeter across, while its axons can stretch more than 3 feet in length, as in the leg’s sciatic nerve.
—
Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2024
Nerves, in turn, are made up of bundles of axons, the individual filaments that transmit signals throughout the body.
—Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2024
Prevailing Idea: Electric Pulse In the conventional view, a nerve signal is transmitted in the membrane that makes up the axon’s outer wall.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
New View: Mechanical Wave In the new view, a nerve signal is also transmitted in the axon’s membrane but as a shock wave that travels down the axon.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
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Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2024
Nerves, in turn, are made up of bundles of axons, the individual filaments that transmit signals throughout the body.
—Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2024
Prevailing Idea: Electric Pulse In the conventional view, a nerve signal is transmitted in the membrane that makes up the axon’s outer wall.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
New View: Mechanical Wave In the new view, a nerve signal is also transmitted in the axon’s membrane but as a shock wave that travels down the axon.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
See all Example Sentences for axon
Dictionary Entries Near axon
Cite this Entry
“Axon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axon. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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axon
noun
ax·on
ˈak-ˌsän 
variants
also axone
: a usually long and single process of a neuron that usually carries impulses away from the cell body compare dendrite sense 2
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