Meaning & use
dendrite
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
One of the short, branching fibers of a nerve cell that picks up messages from neighboring cells and carries them toward the cell body.
Grammar: Usually plural in descriptions: a neuron has many dendrites.
Patterns
- the dendrites of a neuron
- dendrites receive something
Each dendrite is covered with tiny contact points where signals arrive.
Signals travel along the dendrites toward the cell body of the neuron.
Learning a new skill can make the dendrites in the brain grow new branches.
nouncountablespecialist
A tree-like crystal or mineral pattern, such as the fern-shaped marks seen in some rocks or in frozen metal.
Grammar: A rarer geology and materials sense, with the same branching idea.
Patterns
- dendrites in something
The geologist pointed to the dark dendrites that looked like tiny ferns on the stone.
Under the microscope, the cooling alloy formed delicate dendrites.
Word forms
| plural | dendrites |
|---|
Common combinations
- branching dendrites
- The drawing showed branching dendrites reaching out from the neuron.
- dendrite and axon
- A dendrite and axon do opposite jobs in a nerve cell.
- dendrite growth
- Exercise may support dendrite growth in older adults.
- neuron's dendrites
- A neuron's dendrites collect messages from thousands of other cells.
- dendrite structure
- The study compared the dendrite structure of young and old mice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerve fiber
- Nerve fiber is a general term, while dendrite names the specific branch that receives signals.
- neurite
- Neurite means any projection from a nerve cell, so it covers dendrites and axons together.
- process
- In cell biology, a process is any extension from a cell and is much less specific than dendrite.
Opposites
Word family
- dendritic adjective
- branching like a tree, or relating to dendrites
- dendron noun
- a dendrite and its branches, rarely used
- dendrology noun
- the study of trees, from the same Greek root
Commonly confused: dendrite or axon?
dendrite vs axon
A dendrite brings signals into a neuron, while an axon sends them out to other cells.
Practice
In a neuron, which part receives signals from other cells?
Choose one answer.
Dendrites are the branching receivers of a neuron. The axon is the sending fiber, so it is the tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dendrite”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.