gray matter
Use Gray matter in a sentencegray matter
noun
1.
Anatomy. nerve tissue, especially of the brain and spinal cord, that contains fibers and nerve cell bodies and is dark reddish-gray. Compare white matter.
2.
Informal. brains or intellect.
Origin:
1830–40
1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To gray matter
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
gray matter n.
Brownish-gray nerve tissue, especially of the brain and spinal cord, composed of nerve cell bodies and their dendrites and some supportive tissue. Also called gray substance, substantia grisea.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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00:10
Gray matter
is always a great word to know.
So is marrow. Does it mean:
| one member of the first seven pairs of ribs that are attached in humans to the sternum |
| a soft, fatty, vascular tissue in the interior cavities of bones that is a major site of blood cell production |
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| gray matter
The brownish-gray tissue of the vertebrate brain and spinal cord, made up chiefly of the cell bodies and dendrites of neurons. Compare white matter. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
gray matter
Brains, intellect, as in If you'd only use your gray matter, you'd see the answer in a minute. This expression refers to actual brain tissue that is gray in color. Agatha Christie's fictional detective, Hercule Poirot, constantly alludes to using the little gray cells for solving a crime. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The technique revealed never-before-seen patterns in the white matter and gray matter of the human brain.
Until now, researchers believed our brain had a basic division of labor between gray matter and white matter.
The brain has not yet revealed its mysterious mechanism of gray matter.
Chronic pain can shrink the volume of the brain's gray matter, the portion of the brain devoted to thought.
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