implant

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verb im·plant \ im-ˈplant \

Definition of implant

transitive verb

1 a :to fix or set securely or deeply

a ruby implanted in the idol's forehead

b :to set permanently in the consciousness or habit patterns :inculcate

2 :to insert in living tissue (as for growth, slow release, or formation of an organic union)

subcutaneously implanted hormone pellets

intransitive verb

:to undergo implantation

the failure of embryos to implant

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implantable

play \im-ˈplan-tə-bəl\ adjective

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implanter

play \im-ˈplan-tər\ noun

See implant defined for English-language learners

See implant defined for kids

Examples of implant in a Sentence

a hearing aid that is surgically implanted in the ear
a music teacher who strove to implant within his students a love of the classics

Recent Examples of implant from the Web

The researchers then implanted the human neurons into 10 monkeys whose own dopamine-making neurons had been destroyed.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Brain cell replacement for Parkinson's boosted by monkey study," 30 Aug. 2017
Of the few known environmental androgens, trenbolone acetate, a synthetic steroid implanted into cattle to speed their growth, has sparked the most concern.

— mitch leslie, Science | AAAS, "Something is changing the sex of Costa Rican crocodiles," 30 Aug. 2017
And finally, there’s the cost of fertilizing and implanting them.

— charlotte cowles, The Cut, "Is Freezing My Eggs Worth the Cost?," 10 Aug. 2017
Nexplanon is the brand name for an etonogestrel birth control device about the size of a matchstick that is implanted in a woman's arm, providing 99 percent effective contraception for up to four years.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Tennessee judge offers to release inmates early if they will get sterilized," 21 July 2017
But the United States also implanted democracy in Germany, Italy, and Japan, and positioned its troops on the frontlines of freedom.

— chicagotribune.com, "We didn't win our independence to be this kind of country," 3 July 2017
In 2010, one group did this for a bacterium with an exceptionally tiny genome, crafting all million or so letters of its DNA and implanting it into a hollow cell.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "The Moral Question That Stanford Asks Its Bioengineering Students," 27 June 2017
Twenty feet under water at Pickles Reef, the Coral Restoration Foundation, based in Key Largo, has implanted endangered staghorn corals across the reef.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "As coral disappears, so will the Florida Keys' economy," 25 June 2017
Company scientists hoped a network of blood vessels would grow on the device implanted under the skin.

— brian gormley, WSJ, "Biotech Startups’ Cell-Based Diabetes Attack," 24 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'implant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of implant

15th century

implant Synonyms

Synonyms

breed, enroot, inculcate, infix, inseminate, instill, plant, sow

Antonyms

dislodge, root (out), uproot

Related Words

drive, hammer, pound; embed (also imbed), entrench (also intrench), fix, lodge, root; imbue, infuse, ingrain (also engrain), inoculate, invest, steep, suffuse

Near Antonyms

eliminate, eradicate; eject, expel; detach, disconnect, disengage, remove

Synonym Discussion of implant

implant, inculcate, instill, inseminate, infix mean to introduce into the mind. implant implies teaching that makes for permanence of what is taught.

- implanted a love of reading in her students

inculcate implies persistent or repeated efforts to impress on the mind.

- tried to inculcate in him high moral standards

instill stresses gradual, gentle imparting of knowledge over a long period of time.

- instill traditional values in your children

inseminate applies to a sowing of ideas in many minds so that they spread through a class or nation.

- inseminated an unquestioning faith in technology

infix stresses firmly inculcating a habit of thought.

- infixed a chronic cynicism

implant

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noun im·plant \ ˈim-ˌplant \

Definition of implant

:something (such as a graft or device) implanted in tissue — compare cochlear implant

See implant defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of implant from the Web

Medical devices connected to the brain are vulnerable to sabotage, and neuroscientists at the University of Oxford suggest that the same vulnerability applies to brain implants, leading to the possibility of a phenomenon called brainjacking.

— marcello ienca, Scientific American, "Preserving the Right to Cognitive Liberty," 24 July 2017
The women receive a Nexplanon implant in their arm, which prevents pregnancy for a period of up to three years.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "This Tennessee County Is Offering Reduced Jail Sentences In Exchange For Birth Control," 21 July 2017
In one illustrative example, Colorado offered teens and low-income women free IUDs and birth control implants, and their teen birthrate dropped 40 percent from the program's start in 2009 to 2013.

— krystin arneson, Glamour, "The Trump Administration Just Quietly Cut $214 Million From Teen Birth Control Programs," 16 July 2017
Breasts with implants feel different to the touch than real breasts.

— brooke shunatona, Cosmopolitan, "21 Things You Should Know Before Getting a Boob Job," 13 July 2017
Especially formidable is the new class of pharmaceutical implants, matchstick-size devices that deliver drugs to patients over a period of weeks or months, are coming into their own.

— erika fry, Fortune, "for coverage from TIME, Health, Fortune and more," 29 June 2017
The biotech Intarcia, meanwhile, has a diabetes-treating implant under FDA review.

— erika fry, Fortune, "for coverage from TIME, Health, Fortune and more," 29 June 2017
The study authors note that long-acting methods like the IUD and implant were redesigned in the early 2000s and hadn't been widely adopted enough to get accurate estimates.

— alexandra sifferlin, Time, "More Than Half of Teens Are Having Sex and Most Use Birth Control," 22 June 2017
Other firms flourished, peddling hip implants, artificial femurs and bone plates for children.

— danielle paquette, Alaska Dispatch News, "In one slice of the Midwest, a labor shortage weighs on the economy," 21 June 2017

First Known Use of implant

1890

IMPLANT Defined for English Language Learners

implant

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verb

Definition of implant for English Language Learners

: to put (something) in a specified place; especially medical : to place (something) in a person's body by means of surgery
: to cause (something) to become a part of the way a person thinks or feels

implant

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noun

Definition of implant for English Language Learners

medical : something placed in a person's body by means of surgery

IMPLANT Defined for Kids

implant

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verb im·plant \ im-ˈplant \

Definition of implant for Students

implanted; implanting

:to set securely or deeply Doctors implanted the hearing device.

Medical Dictionary

implant

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transitive verb im·plant \ im-ˈplant \

medical Definition of implant

1 :to set permanently in the consciousness or habit patterns

2 a :to insert or fix in a living site (as for growth, slow release, or formation of an organic union)

subcutaneously implanted hormone pellets

b :to insert an implant in

100 patients have been implanted with nylon ribbons without complications
—U. K. Henschke

intransitive verb

:to undergo implantation :become implanted

failure of embryos to implant

implant

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noun im·plant \ ˈim-ˌplant \

medical Definition of implant

:something (as a graft, a small container of radioactive material for treatment of cancer, or a pellet containing hormones to be gradually absorbed) that is implanted especially in tissue