gray matter

noun

1

: neural tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that contains nerve-cell bodies as well as nerve fibers and has a brownish-gray color

2

: brains, intellect

The key to his surge has been an increased use of his gray matter …

—Austin Murphy

Synonyms of gray matter

• sense
• intelligence
• intellect
• reason
• brain(s)

Examples of gray matter in a Sentence

she's got the gray matter to figure that equation out

Recent Examples on the Web

The gray matter in our brains as early teenagers is actually the fullest of our lives. —Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026

The researchers found that those who passed the exam had an increase in gray matter and enhanced memory. —Amanda Gardner, Martha Stewart, 8 Feb. 2026

White matter, so named because of a pale, fatty substance called myelin that wraps the bundles of nerves, carries information between gray matter areas like highways in the brain. —Christopher M. Filley, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2026

Now new research offers clues to a link between menopause and changes in the brain’s gray matter, as well as anxiety and depression. —Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 27 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gray matter

• backscatter
• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• latter

Kids Definition

gray matter

noun

1

: nerve tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that has a brownish gray color

2

: intelligence sense 1

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