Illustration of neuron
- 1 cell body
- 2 dendrite
- 3 axon
- 4 nerve ending
: a grayish or reddish granular cell that is the fundamental functional unit of nervous tissue transmitting and receiving nerve impulses and having cytoplasmic processes which are highly differentiated frequently as multiple dendrites or usually as solitary axons which conduct impulses to and away from the cell body : nerve cell sense 1
Examples of neuron in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team made international headlines in 2022 after developing a self-adapting computer 'brain' by placing 800,000 human and mouse neurons on a chip and training this network to play the video game.
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New Atlas, 3 Mar. 2025
After all, this tiny worm has just 302 neurons—a fraction of the 86 billion neurons in the human brain.
—Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Insulin is critical in moving glucose from the blood into cells — including neurons in the brain — so the body can use it for energy.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 25 Feb. 2025
Oxytocin neurons, which underlie helping behaviors in a range of species, help activate the revival-like behaviors in mice, researchers reported in the journal Science.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 21 Feb. 2025
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New Atlas, 3 Mar. 2025
After all, this tiny worm has just 302 neurons—a fraction of the 86 billion neurons in the human brain.
—Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Insulin is critical in moving glucose from the blood into cells — including neurons in the brain — so the body can use it for energy.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 25 Feb. 2025
Oxytocin neurons, which underlie helping behaviors in a range of species, help activate the revival-like behaviors in mice, researchers reported in the journal Science.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for neuron
Cite this Entry
“Neuron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neuron. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
neuron
noun
neu·ron
ˈn(y)ü-ˌrän 
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r- ˌän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r- ˌän
: a grayish or reddish cell that is the basic working unit of the nervous system and has an axon and dendrites that carry nerve impulses
Medical Definition
neuron
noun
neu·ron
ˈn(y)ü-ˌrän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r-ˌän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r-ˌän
variants
also neurone
: one of the cells that constitute nervous tissue, that have the property of transmitting and receiving nerve impulses, and that are composed of somewhat reddish or grayish protoplasm with a large nucleus containing a conspicuous nucleolus, irregular cytoplasmic granules, and cytoplasmic processes which are highly differentiated frequently as multiple dendrites or usually as solitary axons and which conduct impulses toward and away from the cell body : nerve cell sense 1
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