Meaning & use
synapse
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Meaning
nouncountabletechnicalbiology
The tiny gap where one nerve cell passes a signal to another nerve cell or to a muscle.
Grammar: Countable: one synapse, two synapses. Often used with at or across: signals travel across the synapse.
Patterns
- at the synapse
- across the synapse
- form a synapse
The signal crosses the synapse by releasing chemicals.
Damage to the synapse can slow down communication between neurons.
Researchers studied how synapses change with learning.
Word forms
| plural | synapses |
|---|
Common combinations
- synaptic transmission
- Synaptic transmission is how signals move from one neuron to the next.
- at the synapse
- The electrical signal is converted into a chemical one at the synapse.
- across the synapse
- Neurotransmitters carry the message across the synapse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- junction
- A general word for a meeting point; synapse is the specific biological term.
Word family
- synaptic adjective
- Relating to a synapse, as in synaptic connections.
Commonly confused: synapse or neuron?
synapse vs neuron
A neuron is the whole nerve cell; the synapse is only the connection point between neurons.
Practice
The signal passes ___ the synapse to reach the next neuron.
Choose one answer.
We say signals travel across the synapse because they cross the gap. Through suggests moving inside something, which is not correct here. Between would need two separate things, but the synapse is the gap itself. Among is used for more than two things and does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synapse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.