neurotoxin
noun
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The nervous system is almost all-powerful in the body: all five senses depend on it, as do breathing, digestion, and the heart. So it's an obvious target for poisons, and neurotoxins have developed as weapons in many animals, including snakes, bees, and spiders. Some wasps use a neurotoxin to paralyze their prey so that it can be stored alive to be eaten later. Snake venom is often neurotoxic (as in cobras and coral snakes, for example), though it may instead be hemotoxic (as in rattlesnakes and coppermouths), operating on the circulatory system. Artificial neurotoxins, called nerve agents, have been developed by scientists as means of chemical warfare; luckily, few have ever been used.
Examples of neurotoxin in a Sentence
Katherine Bourzac, Scientific American, 7 May 2025
As a true indicator of simpler times, an organizer would join forces with an injector to offer neurotoxin aesthetic treatments on a budget for a wide group of attendees.
—Dahvi Shira, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Small fish and sardines can create domoic acid, and test results showed both the humpback and mink whales had high levels of the neurotoxin in their stomachs and urine, officials said.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2025
The toxic algae leads to the neurotoxin domoic acid to work its way up the food chain, from fish to the sea lions and other marine life that eat them, which then leads to sea lions coming ashore disoriented with their mouths foaming and sometimes dead.
—Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Neurotoxin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurotoxin. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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neurotoxin
noun
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