neural network

Definition of neural network

: a computer architecture in which a number of processors are interconnected in a manner suggestive of the connections between neurons in a human brain and which is able to learn by a process of trial and error

— called also neural net

Examples of neural network in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In this case, the researchers trained their neural network to sort biological patterns—that is, flocks of birds—from precipitation patterns on the weather scans. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "Millions of Birds Are Migrating Earlier Because of Warming," 17 Dec. 2019 That is the year Amazon switched to using deep learning methods—the kind of A.I. that is based on multi-level neural networks, which mimic, in a loose way, the connections in the human brain. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, "A.I. Is Everywhere—But Where Is Human Judgment?," 12 Nov. 2019 Deep machine learning like that used by neural networks is something of a black box. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "Why Is the Three-Body Problem Unsolvable?," 6 Nov. 2019 Without shying away from technical details, this survey provides an accessible course in neural networks, computer vision, and natural-language processing, and asks whether the quest to produce an abstracted, general intelligence is worrisome. — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 29 Oct. 2019 The new research uses a type of AI called a convolutional neural network, which is adept at recognizing images. — Warren Cornwall, Science | AAAS, "Artificial intelligence could predict El Niño up to 18 months in advance," 18 Sep. 2019 Soon, some teams began integrating neural networks, a computer model meant to mimic the structure of the human brain with layers of data-processing clusters imitating neurons. — The Atlantic, "Coming Soon to a Battlefield: Robots That Can Kill," 3 Sep. 2019 Fontanini wanted to know what kind of neural network could theoretically enable this more rapid coding. — Quanta Magazine, "Brains Speed Up Perception by Guessing What’s Next," 2 May 2019 Then, they're sent wirelessly to a nearby computer that contains the neural network. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "Watching This AI-Powered LEGO Brick Sorter Is Extremely Satisfying," 9 Dec. 2019

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about neural network

Dictionary Entries near neural network

Statistics for neural network

Last Updated

8 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Neural network.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neural%20network. Accessed 18 January 2020.

WORD OF THE DAY

vicarious

experienced by way of someone else

Test Your Vocabulary

The Eponym Quiz

Which is the best synonym of bowdlerize?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.