Illustration of neuron
- 1 cell body
- 2 dendrite
- 3 axon
- 4 nerve ending
: a grayish or reddish granular cell that is the fundamental functional unit of nervous tissue transmitting and receiving nerve impulses and having cytoplasmic processes which are highly differentiated frequently as multiple dendrites or usually as solitary axons which conduct impulses to and away from the cell body : nerve cell sense 1
Examples of neuron in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The dopamine neurons stop firing.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Researchers looked at the napping habits of 20 young adults, focusing on the tiny gaps between neurons called synapses.
—Hunter Boyce, AJC.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Olah and his colleagues spent many thousands of hours peering at the activity of discrete neurons in primitive image-recognition networks.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The team recorded the neuron’s electrical activity to test whether the process could produce distinguishable signals.
—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for neuron
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Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Researchers looked at the napping habits of 20 young adults, focusing on the tiny gaps between neurons called synapses.
—Hunter Boyce, AJC.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Olah and his colleagues spent many thousands of hours peering at the activity of discrete neurons in primitive image-recognition networks.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The team recorded the neuron’s electrical activity to test whether the process could produce distinguishable signals.
—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for neuron
Cite this Entry
“Neuron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neuron. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
neuron
noun
neu·ron
ˈn(y)ü-ˌrän 
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r- ˌän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r- ˌän
: a grayish or reddish cell that is the basic working unit of the nervous system and has an axon and dendrites that carry nerve impulses
Medical Definition
neuron
noun
neu·ron
ˈn(y)ü-ˌrän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r-ˌän
ˈn(y)u̇(ə)r-ˌän
variants
also neurone
: one of the cells that constitute nervous tissue, that have the property of transmitting and receiving nerve impulses, and that are composed of somewhat reddish or grayish protoplasm with a large nucleus containing a conspicuous nucleolus, irregular cytoplasmic granules, and cytoplasmic processes which are highly differentiated frequently as multiple dendrites or usually as solitary axons and which conduct impulses toward and away from the cell body : nerve cell sense 1
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