branch

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noun

a division or subdivision of the stem or axis of a tree, shrub, or other plant.

a limb, offshoot, or ramification of any main stem: the branches of a deer's antlers.

any member or part of a body or system; a section or subdivision: the various branches of learning.

a local operating division of a business, library, or the like.

a line of family descent stemming from a particular ancestor, as distinguished from some other line or lines from the same stock; a division of a family.

a tributary stream or any stream that is not a large river or a bayou.

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. branch water ( def 2 ).

Linguistics. (in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a lower order than a subfamily and of a higher order than a subbranch or a group, as the Germanic branch of Indo-European. Compare group ( def 4a ).

Computers. a point in a computer program where the computer selects one of two or more instructions to execute, according to some criterion.

10.

Nautical. a warrant or license permitting a pilot to navigate in certain waters.

verb (used without object)

11.

to put forth branches; spread in branches.

12.

to divide into separate parts or subdivisions; diverge: The main road branches off to the left.

13.

to expand or extend, as business activities: The bank has plans to branch throughout the state.

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verb (used with object)

14.

to divide into branches or sections.

15.

to adorn with needlework; decorate with embroidery, as in textile fabrics.

Verb phrases

16.

branch out, to expand or extend, as business activities, pursuits, interests, etc.: The business is branching out into computers.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English bra(u)nche < Anglo-French; Old French branche < Late Latin branca paw, of uncertain origin

Related forms

branch·less, adjective

branch·like, adjective

in·ter·branch, adjective

mul·ti·branched, adjective

out·branch, verb (used with object)

un·branched, adjective

un·branch·ing, adjective

un·der·branch, noun

well-branched, adjective

Can be confused: bough, bow, branch (see synonym study at the current entry).

Synonyms
1. offshoot, shoot. Branch, bough, limb refer to divisions of a tree. Branch is general, meaning either a large or a small division. Bough refers only to the larger branches: a bough loaded with apples. A limb is a large primary division of a tree trunk or of a bough: to climb out on a limb. 12. ramify, subdivide.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To branch

Collins

World English Dictionary

branch (brɑːntʃ)

—n
1.	a secondary woody stem arising from the trunk or bough of a tree or the main stem of a shrub
2.	a subdivision of the stem or root of any other plant
3.	an offshoot or secondary part: a branch of a deer's antlers
4.	a. a subdivision or subsidiary section of something larger or more complex: branches of learning; branch of the family
	b. (as modifier): a branch office
5.	(US) any small stream
6.	maths a section of a curve separated from the rest of the curve by discontinuities or special points
7.	computing Also called: jump a departure from the normal sequence of programmed instructions into a separate program area
8.	an alternative route in an atomic or nuclear decay series

—vb (usually foll by from) (often foll by off)
9.	(intr) (of a tree or other plant) to produce or possess branches
10.	(of stems, roots, etc) to grow and diverge (from another part)
11.	to divide or be divided into subsidiaries or offshoots
12.	to diverge from the main way, road, topic, etc

[C13: from Old French branche, from Late Latin branca paw, foot]

'branchless

—*adj*

'branchlike

—*adj*

'branchy

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

branch

c.1300, "limb of a tree" (also used of things analogous to it, especially geographic features), from O.Fr. branche "branch, bough, twig; branch of a family" (12c.), from L.L. branca "footprint," later "a claw, paw," of unknown origin, probably from Gaulish. The connecting notion would be the shape.

Replaced native bough. Meaning "local office of a business" is first recorded 1817, from earlier sense of "component part of a system" (1690s). The verb meaning "to diverge from a central point" is first attested 1799. Related: Branched; branching.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

branch (brānch)
n.
An offshoot or a division of the main portion of a structure, especially that of a nerve, blood vessel, or lymphatic vessel; a ramus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

branch definition

1. An edge in a tree.
2. A jump.

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Branch definition

a symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors (Ezek. 17:3, 10; Dan. 11:7); of prosperity (Job 8:16); of the Messiah, a branch out of the root of the stem of Jesse (Isa. 11:1), the "beautiful branch" (4:2), a "righteous branch" (Jer. 23:5), "the Branch" (Zech. 3:8; 6:12). Disciples are branches of the true vine (John 15:5, 6). "The branch of the terrible ones" (Isa. 25:5) is rightly translated in the Revised Version "the song of the terrible ones," i.e., the song of victory shall be brought low by the destruction of Babylon and the return of the Jews from captivity. The "abominable branch" is a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged (Isa. 14:19). The "highest branch" in Ezek. 17:3 represents Jehoiakim the king.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

branch

In addition to the idioms beginning with branch, also see olive branch; root and branch.

Example sentences

Tree bears large, loose, upright clusters of greenish white flowers at branch

ends in summer.

The secret to this trick comes from a branch of mathematics called topology.

The arteries branch out at the brain, carrying blood over and through the organ.

When the owl hears prey, it quietly swoops off its branch and swiftly soars

downward.

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embranchment limb Mongolian offset air layering Baltic

Idioms & Phrases

branch

olive branch

root and branch

Image for branch

Matching Quote

"The Indian said that he had got his money by hunting, mostly high up the West Branch of the Penobscot, and toward the head of the St. John; he had hunted there from a boy, and knew all about that region. His game had been beaver, otter, black cat (or fisher), sable, moose, etc. Loup-cervier (or Canada lynx) were plenty yet in burnt grounds. For food in the woods, he uses partridges, ducks, dried moose-meat, hedgehog, etc. Loons, too, were good, only "bile 'em good." He told us at some length how he had suffered from starvation when a mere lad, being overtaken by winter when hunting with two grown Indians in the northern part of Maine, and obliged to leave their canoe on account of ice."

-Henry David Thoreau