hair cell

noun

: a cell with hairlike processes
especially : one of the sensory cells in the auditory epithelium of the organ of Corti

Examples of hair cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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While some of this loss is due to the hair cells in the inner ears breaking down with age and not picking up vibrations as well, per WebMD, there are some risk factors that can be controlled with behavior modifications. Reem Amro, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2025 In addition, scalp cooling causes hair cells to become dormant: that is, to stop dividing so that the chemotherapy treatment, which targets rapidly-dividing cells, will bypass them. Eva Epker, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025 While exposure to loud noises is a common cause of hair cell damage in humans, hearing loss in dogs is usually attributed to genetics or the natural aging process. Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025 Recent findings have led German, Swiss, and Austrian researchers to develop a prototype hearing implant based on the concept that a series of laser pulses can trigger auditory signals from hair cells located within the inner ear. IEEE Spectrum, 21 Nov. 2017 See All Example Sentences for hair cell

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hair cell was circa 1890

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Cite this Entry

“Hair cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hair%20cell. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

Medical Definition

hair cell

noun
: a cell with hairlike processes
especially : one of the sensory cells in the auditory epithelium of the organ of Corti

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