node

noun \ ˈnōd \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Definition of node

1 a : a pathological swelling or enlargement (as of a rheumatic joint)

b : a discrete mass of one kind of tissue enclosed in tissue of a different kind

2 : an entangling complication (as in a drama) : predicament

3 : either of the two points where the orbit of a planet or comet intersects the ecliptic; also : either of the points at which the orbit of an earth satellite crosses the plane of the equator

4 a : a point, line, or surface of a vibrating body or system that is free or relatively free from vibratory motion

b : a point at which a wave has an amplitude of zero

5 a : a point at which subsidiary parts originate or center

b : a point on a stem at which a leaf or leaves are inserted

c : a point at which a curve intersects itself in such a manner that the branches have different tangents

d : vertex 1b

See node defined for English-language learners

See node defined for kids

Examples of node in a Sentence

the doctor examined the node on my knee before deciding it was the result of arthritis

Recent Examples of node from the Web

Their nodes were local, semi-independent affiliates in cities across the country.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "When the Revolution Was Televised," 1 Apr. 2018
Members whose view of the antennas is blocked by a building or bridge can connect to other NYC Mesh members’ nodes.

— larry greenemeier, Scientific American, "Net Neutrality Loss Could Rekindle ISP Alternatives for Internet Access," 8 Jan. 2018
Just as with pelargonium, snip off a three inch piece at a node, place in water for 2-3 weeks, and presto!

— molly marquand, Good Housekeeping, "5 Of The Easiest Houseplants To Grow From Cuttings," 14 Dec. 2017
Array of Things, funded by the National Science Foundation, recently installed 100 sensor nodes across the city, measuring factors ranging from air quality to traffic congestion to sound and vibration at every data point.

— patrick m. o'connell, chicagotribune.com, "Wrigley Field serves as classroom for Lane Tech students," 22 May 2018
Just two years earlier, the agency’s computer science office had established the first nodes of ARPANET, the network that would later become the internet.

— sharon weinberger, Smithsonian, "How Soviet Bomb Tests Paved the Way For U.S. Climate Science," 7 May 2018
Just two years earlier, the agency’s computer science office had established the first nodes of ARPANET, the network that would later become the internet.

— sharon weinberger, WIRED, "How a Soviet A-Bomb Test Launched US Climate Science," 30 Apr. 2018
The graphics architecture roadmap that AMD unveiled at CES 2018 didn’t show any new GPUs in the pipeline for this year except for a version of Vega built on the 7nm process node for machine learning customers.

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "AMD's Radeon RX 500X graphics cards are just RX 500-series GPUs with a new name," 11 Apr. 2018
Possible missions include countering anti-satellite weapons; targeting the command-and-control nodes of enemy A2/AD networks; attacking the nuclear facilities of a rogue proliferator such as North Korea; and killing important terrorists.

— The Economist, "The future of war," 25 Jan. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of node

Middle English, from Latin nodus knot, node; akin to Middle Irish naidm bond

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

node Synonyms

Synonyms

bump, knot, lump, nodule, swelling;

Related Words

growth, tumor, wart;

hump, hunch;

bruise, contusion, welt;

blister, boil;

blob, chunk, clod, clump, gob, gobbet, hunk, knob, nub, nubble, nugget, wad;

NODE Defined for English Language Learners

node

noun

Definition of node for English Language Learners

: a small lump or mass of tissue in your body
: the small round part on the stem of a plant where a leaf grows
: a place where lines in a network cross or meet

NODE Defined for Kids

node

noun \ ˈnōd \

Definition of node for Students

: a thickened spot or part (as of a plant stem where a leaf develops)

Medical Dictionary

node

noun \ ˈnōd \

medical Definition of node

1 a : a pathological swelling or enlargement (as of a rheumatic joint)

b : a body part resembling a knot; especially : a discrete mass of one kind of tissue enclosed in tissue of a different kind — see atrioventricular node, lymph node

2 : a point, line, or surface of a vibrating body that is free or relatively free of vibratory motion