noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A thin, irregular sheet of grey matter underneath the inner part of the neocortex on both sides of the brains of mammals; its exact function is not understood, but it is believed to facilitate coordination between senses

   "For quotations using this term, see Citations:claustrum."

2. 2
   a layer of grey matter in the brain adjacent to the lenticular nucleus wordnet

Example

More examples

"For quotations using this term, see Citations:claustrum."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin claustrum (“a bolt, bar”). Doublet of cloister.

Related phrases

grey matter

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.