Dendrite
//ˈdɛndɹaɪt// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A slender projection of a nerve cell which conducts nerve impulses from a synapse to the body of the cell; a dendron.
"Little copses of television antennas. Whiplike, graceful thrilling metal dendrites drawing images from the air, bringing brotherhood, communion to immured apartment people."
- 2 short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron wordnet
- 3 Slender cell process emanating from the cell bodies of dendritic cells and follicular dendritic cells of the immune system.
- 4 Tree-like structure of crystals growing as material crystallizes
- 5 A hermit who lived in a tree. historical
Example
More examples"Little copses of television antennas. Whiplike, graceful thrilling metal dendrites drawing images from the air, bringing brotherhood, communion to immured apartment people."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek δενδρίτης (dendrítēs, “of or pertaining to a tree”). Equivalent to dendr- + -ite.
Related phrases
More for "dendrite"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.