neurotoxin
noun
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The nervous system is almost all-powerful in the body: all five senses depend on it, as do breathing, digestion, and the heart. So it's an obvious target for poisons, and neurotoxins have developed as weapons in many animals, including snakes, bees, and spiders. Some wasps use a neurotoxin to paralyze their prey so that it can be stored alive to be eaten later. Snake venom is often neurotoxic (as in cobras and coral snakes, for example), though it may instead be hemotoxic (as in rattlesnakes and coppermouths), operating on the circulatory system. Artificial neurotoxins, called nerve agents, have been developed by scientists as means of chemical warfare; luckily, few have ever been used.
Examples of neurotoxin in a Sentence
Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025
In about 80% of her patients, Dr. Levine uses the method in conjunction with typical upper and lower face neurotoxin injections.
—Taryn Brooke, Allure, 12 Sep. 2024
This is the first time that evidence has been found of a neurotoxin being used in mating, rather than for hunting or defense, said Chung.
—Jack Guy, CNN, 13 Mar. 2025
An outbreak of neurotoxin is killing an unprecedented number of sea lions along California’s coast.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Neurotoxin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurotoxin. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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neurotoxin
noun
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