Efferent

//ˈɛ.fɜː.ənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A duct or stream that carries away.
  2. 2
    a nerve that conveys impulses toward or to muscles or glands wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Carrying away from. not-comparable

    "An efferent nerve carries impulses from the brain to the body."

  2. 2
    Carried outward. not-comparable

    "Efferent impulses are those conveyed by the motor or efferent nerves from the central nervous organ outwards."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying information away from the CNS wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
centrifugalcorticoefferentefferent nervemotor nervemotor nervemotorial

Example

More examples

"Efferent neurons travel away from the brain to effect their target organs."

Etymology

From Latin efferēns, present active participle of efferō (“bring or carry out”), from ē (“out of”), short form of ex, + ferō (“carry, bear”).

Related phrases

efferent arterioleefferent duct

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