Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

CTE

abbreviation

Definition of CTE

chronic traumatic encephalopathy
  • Researchers from the National Institutes of Health said Thursday the former NFL star's abnormalities are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
  • —Barry Wilner

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!
alt-59c2960017c94
The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59c2cb9e9ef54
Trending: Ivanka: "An 'Otherwise' Incredible Day"

Medical Dictionary

CTE

abbreviation

medical Definition of CTE

chronic traumatic encephalopathy
  • Researchers from the National Institutes of Health said Thursday the former NFL star's abnormalities are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
  • —Barry Wilner,  The Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican,  11 Jan. 2013

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up CTE? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

holus-bolus

play

all at once

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. otherwise "in other respects"

  2. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  3. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  4. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

  5. allegory No spoilers!

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

ct
CT
CTE

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

  • young-plant-shoots
  • Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c2960017c94
The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

image536372841
Silent Letters

When each letter can be seen but not heard

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Its origins are surprisingly murky.

alt-59c13729150dc
"Immune to" or "Immune from"?

Nobody is immune to this question.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game