neuron

noun

neu·​ron ˈnü-ˌrän  ˈnyü-  ˈnu̇r-ˌän 

ˈnyu̇r-

: 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

neuronal

ˈnu̇r-ə-nᵊl 

ˈnyu̇r-;

nu̇-ˈrō-nᵊl 

nyu̇-

adjective

or less commonly neuronic

nu̇-ˈrä-nik 

nyu̇-

Illustration of neuron

• 1 cell body
• 2 dendrite
• 3 axon
• 4 nerve ending

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. —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

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Neuron, borrowed from Greek neûron "sinew, tendon, nerve" — more at nerve entry 1

Note: Term introduced by the German anatomist Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer (Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz, 1836-1921) in "Ueber einige neuere Forschungen im Gebiete der Anatomie der Centralnervensystems," Berliner klinische Wochenschrift, 28. Jahrgang, no. 28, July 13, 1891, p. 691: "Somit besteht ein Nervenelement (eine 'Nerveneinheit' oder 'Neuron', wie ich es zu nennen vorschlagen möchte), den genannten Forschungsergebnissen … zufolge, aus nachstehenden Stücken: a) einer Nervenzelle, b) dem Nervenfortsatze, c) dessen Collateralen und d) dem Endbäumchen." — "Therefore, in accordance with the cited research results, a nerve element (a 'nerve unit' or 'neuron,' as I would like to suggest as a name), consists of the following parts: a) a nerve cell, b) the nerve process [= axon], c) its collaterals and d) the end tree [= axon terminals]." Waldeyer apparently intended -on to be taken as a suffix, indicating a unit, rather than the Greek neuter singular inflectional ending, as he utilized Neuronen as the plural in the same article. Cf. French neurone and the English variant neurone.

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing neuron

• associative neuron
• motor neuron

Rhymes for neuron

• motoneuron

Kids Definition

neuron

noun

neu·​ron ˈn(y)ü-ˌrän  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 

variants also neurone

-ˌrōn, -ˌōn 

: 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

neuronal

ˈn(y)u̇r-ən-ᵊl  n(y)u̇-ˈrōn-ᵊl 

adjective

also neuronic

n(y)u̇-ˈrän-ik