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
Staff, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Both chewed into the dark brown mountain laurel seeds, which contain neurotoxins at their orange centers.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Beginning in February, hundreds of dolphins and sea lions started washing up on California beaches, either dead or suffering neurotoxin poisoning symptoms such as aggression, lethargy and seizures.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
While at high doses, aluminum is a neurotoxin, the amount contained in vaccines is minuscule.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Neurotoxin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurotoxin. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.
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neurotoxin
noun
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