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gray matter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of gray matter in a Sentence
she's got the gray matter to figure that equation out
Recent Examples on the Web
This three-pound lump of gray matter in our skulls processes our thoughts, memories, feelings, and unconscious physiology.
—Andrew Mawson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Well, leave it to the masters of modern science to explain the living daylights out that day’s supernatural performance, identifying every last detail of the action in my gray matter down to the exact neural networks firing throughout my tempest.
—Jonathan Rowe, Spin, 19 Sep. 2023
Meanwhile, Neanderthals had larger brains than modern humans, though their gray matter wasn’t necessarily larger in all the same regions as humans.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 25 Aug. 2022
One unlucky victim goes rooting around his own skull for gray matter, which is as close as this movie gets to an indictment of the medical profession.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2023
To keep our heads running smoothly, more than 100 types of neurotransmitters must shuttle messages across multiple regions of white and gray matter.
—Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 14 June 2023
This structure gave cells ready access to the gel’s nutrients while mimicking alternating between gray and white matter in the cortex, where gray matter contains neuron cell bodies and white matter contains the long axons connecting them.
—WIRED, 3 Oct. 2023
For one, gray matter volume increases on top of the brain and decreases along the base.
—Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2023
People with higher levels of pain were also more likely to have reduced gray matter in other brain areas that impact cognition, such as the prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe — the same areas attacked by Alzhemier’s disease.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 20 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gray matter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near gray matter
Cite this Entry
“Gray matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20matter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
gray matter
noun1
: nerve tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that has a brownish gray color
Medical Definition
gray matter
noun
: neural tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that contains cell bodies as well as nerve fibers, has a brownish gray color, and forms most of the cortex and nuclei of the brain, the columns of the spinal cord, and the bodies of ganglia
called also gray substance
More from Merriam-Webster on gray matter
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gray matter
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