sense organ
noun
: a bodily structure that receives a stimulus and is affected in such a manner as to initiate excitation of associated sensory nerve fibers which convey specific impulses to the central nervous system where they are interpreted as corresponding sensations : receptor
Examples of sense organ in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The mouth is so close to the brain, so tightly encircled by sense organs, that drilling can trigger a fight-or-flight response.
—
Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Our sense organs vibrate with specific forms of energy or matter (with matter being but a dense form of energy) and set off a chain reaction that turns into information, interpretation, actions and so forth.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Vertebrates, according to Britannica, have backbones to support their bodies, a distinct head, a differentiated brain and nasal, optic and otic (ear) sense organs.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2023
In this view, the brain operates like a telephone switchboard that maintains only reliable connections between incoming calls from our sense organs and outgoing messages to the muscles.
—Matthew Schafer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2020
This has revealed the brain, the sense organs, sinuses, blood vessels, and nerves that are hidden inside the skull of T. rex.
—Robert Clark, National Geographic, 2 June 2018
Research by psychologist Monica Fabiani and her colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that in older people the main problem might not be that the sense organ is rejecting input but rather that the brain itself is having trouble filtering out irrelevant information.
—Robert Epstein, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2012
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Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Our sense organs vibrate with specific forms of energy or matter (with matter being but a dense form of energy) and set off a chain reaction that turns into information, interpretation, actions and so forth.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Vertebrates, according to Britannica, have backbones to support their bodies, a distinct head, a differentiated brain and nasal, optic and otic (ear) sense organs.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2023
In this view, the brain operates like a telephone switchboard that maintains only reliable connections between incoming calls from our sense organs and outgoing messages to the muscles.
—Matthew Schafer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2020
This has revealed the brain, the sense organs, sinuses, blood vessels, and nerves that are hidden inside the skull of T. rex.
—Robert Clark, National Geographic, 2 June 2018
Research by psychologist Monica Fabiani and her colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that in older people the main problem might not be that the sense organ is rejecting input but rather that the brain itself is having trouble filtering out irrelevant information.
—Robert Epstein, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Sense organ.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sense%20organ. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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