neuron

neuron — noun

1. a cell in the body that uses electrical and chemical signals to send and receive

1.nounB2
Definition

a cell in the body that uses electrical and chemical signals to send and receive messages through the nervous system, making movement, thought, and the senses possible

Example

When you touch a hot pan, finger neurons send a danger signal to your brain.

sensory neurons send signal to brain

Minh learned in biology class that a single human brain contains over eighty billion neurons.

Common collocations
  • motor neuron
  • sensory neuron
  • neuron firing
  • neuron activity
  • neuron connection
  • single neuron
  • individual neuron
Synonyms
  • nerve cell

    less formal everyday term used by doctors and in general biology

  • brain cell

    common informal term that is less precise, since neurons exist throughout the body, not only in the brain

Grammar Patterns

neuron + verb

adjective + neuron

Usage Note

Neuron is the scientific term for a nerve cell. A nerve is a bundle of many neurons, so the two terms are not interchangeable when referring to individual cells.

Common Mistakes

His brain has over a hundred billion nerves.
His brain has over a hundred billion neurons.
A nerve is a bundle of many neurons; use 'neuron' when referring to the individual cells.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

The most precise synonym for neuron is nerve cell, an everyday term that means the same thing and is common in medical contexts. However, nerve is a different concept — it refers to a bundle of many neurons wrapped together, like a cable made of many wires. Saying 'a nerve' when you mean 'a neuron' is like confusing a whole telephone cable with a single wire inside it. Brain cell is a looser, informal term that people use for any cell found in the brain, which includes not only neurons but also glial cells that support them. So for a science report, use neuron or nerve cell; in casual conversation, brain cell can work but is less accurate.

nerve cellnerve ↗brain cell

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a single neuron
  • millions of neurons
  • bundle of neurons

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekEnglish

The word 'neuron' comes from the Greek word 'neuron' (νεῦρον), which meant 'sinew,' 'tendon,' or 'cord.' Ancient Greek doctors used it to describe what they saw in the body — fibrous string-like tissues. In the late 1800s, scientists studying the nervous system adopted 'neuron' as the name for the individual nerve cell, realizing that nervous tissue is built from separate cells rather than one continuous web.