axon

noun

ax·​on ˈak-ˌsän 

variants or less commonly axone

ˈak-ˌsōn 

: a usually long and single nerve-cell process that usually conducts impulses away from the cell body see neuron illustration

axonal

ˈak-sə-nᵊl  ak-ˈsä-  -ˈsō- 

adjective

Examples of axon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In August, 1939, the British physiologist Alan Hodgkin and his student Andrew Huxley (Aldous’s half brother) examined squid giant axons, which are up to a thousand times thicker than typical human nerve fibres and thus easier to study. —Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 26 May 2025

And each genetically distinct type can be further subdivided based on its axon endings. —Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025

These signals then travel down long strands of neural tissue called axons. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2025

Each axon forms an ending just beneath the skin’s surface; the different types of endings are mechanisms for picking up and interpreting the variety of touch sensations. —Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin axon, from Greek axōn

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for axon

• anton
• argon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon
• coupon

Kids Definition

axon

noun

ax·​on ˈak-ˌsän 

variants also axone

-ˌsōn 

: a usually long and single process of a neuron that usually carries impulses away from the cell body compare dendrite sense 2

axonal

ˈak-sən-ᵊl 

ak-ˈsän-

-ˈsōn-

adjective

Medical Definition

axon

noun

ax·​on ˈak-ˌsän 

variants also axone

-ˌsōn 

: a usually long and single nerve-cell process that usually conducts impulses away from the cell body