chemoreceptor
noun
che·mo·re·cep·tor
ˌkē-mō-ri-ˈsep-tər 
: a sense organ (such as a taste bud) responding to chemical stimuli
Examples of chemoreceptor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The activation of chemoreceptors (sensory nerve cells that detect low levels of oxygen in the blood).
—
Colleen Doherty, Verywell Health, 2 Aug. 2025
This can make your chemoreceptors, the specialized sensors in your brain stem and arteries that monitor CO₂ levels in your blood, overly sensitive, causing feelings of breathlessness even when oxygen levels are adequate.
—Dana Santas, CNN Money, 4 July 2025
Corals may lack taste buds, nostrils and a brain, but the tiny reef-builders aren’t totally senseless: Their chemoreceptor cells can detect gaseous molecules floating around in the water, many of which are created by corals themselves during photosynthesis.
—Marisa Sloan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2022
All these substances can stimulate what’s called the chemoreceptor trigger zone in your brainstem, which communicates with another brain region called the vomiting center.
—Patrick Wilson, Outside Online, 15 June 2020
In fact, the vomiting in motion sickness is induced by the same area of the brain — the chemoreceptor trigger zone in the medulla — that causes vomiting in response to poisons.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2018
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Colleen Doherty, Verywell Health, 2 Aug. 2025
This can make your chemoreceptors, the specialized sensors in your brain stem and arteries that monitor CO₂ levels in your blood, overly sensitive, causing feelings of breathlessness even when oxygen levels are adequate.
—Dana Santas, CNN Money, 4 July 2025
Corals may lack taste buds, nostrils and a brain, but the tiny reef-builders aren’t totally senseless: Their chemoreceptor cells can detect gaseous molecules floating around in the water, many of which are created by corals themselves during photosynthesis.
—Marisa Sloan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2022
All these substances can stimulate what’s called the chemoreceptor trigger zone in your brainstem, which communicates with another brain region called the vomiting center.
—Patrick Wilson, Outside Online, 15 June 2020
In fact, the vomiting in motion sickness is induced by the same area of the brain — the chemoreceptor trigger zone in the medulla — that causes vomiting in response to poisons.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Chemoreceptor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chemoreceptor. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
chemoreceptor
noun
che·mo·re·cep·tor
-ri-ˈsep-tər
variants
also chemoceptor
ˈkē-mō-ˌsep-tər also ˈkem-ō-
: a sense organ (as a taste bud) responding to chemical stimuli
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