Definitions for brain
breɪnbrain

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brain, encephalonnoun

   that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord

2. brain, brainpower, learning ability, mental capacity, mentality, witnoun

   mental ability

   "he's got plenty of brains but no common sense"

3. mind, head, brain, psyche, nousnoun

   that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason

   "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head"

4. genius, mastermind, brain, brainiac, Einsteinnoun

   someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality

   "Mozart was a child genius"; "he's smart but he's no Einstein"

5. brainverb

   the brain of certain animals used as meat

6. brainverb

   hit on the head

7. brainverb

   kill by smashing someone's skull

Wiktionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brainnoun

   The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.

2. brainnoun

   An intelligent person.

   He was a total brain.

3. brainnoun

   A person who provides the intelligence required for something.

   He is the brains behind the scheme.

4. brainnoun

   Intellect.

   He has a lot of brains.

5. brainnoun

   By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations.

   The computer's brain is capable of millions of calculations a second.

6. brainverb

   To strike (someone) on the head.

7. brainverb

   To kill (a person) by smashing that person's skull.

8. Etymology: From brain, from brægen, from bragnan, from mreghmno-, from mreK-. Cognate with braine, brane, brayen, brein, West Frisian brein, Dutch brein, Brägen, βρεχμος.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. BRAINnoun

   Etymology: brægen, Sax. breyne, Dutch.

   1. That collection of vessels and organs in the head, from which sense and motion arise.

   The brain is divided into cerebrum and cerebellum. Cerebrum is that part of the brain, which possesses all the upper and forepart of the cranium, being separated from the cerebellum by the second process of the dura mater, under which the cerebellum is situated. The substance of the brain is distinguished into outer and inner; the former is called corticalis, cinerea, or glandulosa; the latter, medullaris, alba, or nervea. William Cheselden.

   If I be served such another trick, I’ll have my brains ta’en out, and buttered, and give them to a dog for a new year’s gift. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

   That man proportionably hath the largest brain, I did, I confess, somewhat doubt, and conceived it might have failed in birds, especially such as having little bodies, have yet large cranies, and seem to contain much brain, as snipes and woodcocks; but, upon trial, I find it very true. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

   2. That part in which the understanding is placed; therefore taken for the understanding.

   The force they are under is a real force, and that of their fate but an imaginary conceived one; the one but in their brains, the other on their shoulders. Henry Hammond, Fundamentals.

   A man is first a geometrician in his brain, before he be such in his hand. Matthew Hale, Origin of Mankind.

   3. Sometimes the affections.

   My son Edgar! had he a hand to write this, a heart and brain to breed it in? William Shakespeare, King Lear.

2. To Brainverb

   To dash out the brains; to kill by beating out the brains.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   Why, as I told thee, ’tis a custom with him i’ th’ afternoon to sleep; there thou may’st brain him. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   Outlaws of nature,
   Fit to be shot and brain’d, without a process,
   To stop infection; that’s their proper death. Dryden.

   Next seiz’d two wretches more, and headlong cast,
   Brain’d on the rock, his second dire repast. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Brain

   A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a vertebrate's body. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons, and the estimated number of neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion. Each neuron is connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons. These neurons communicate with one another by means of long protoplasmic fibers called axons, which carry trains of signal pulses called action potentials to distant parts of the brain or body targeting specific recipient cells. Physiologically, brains exert centralized control over a body's other organs. They act on the rest of the body both by generating patterns of muscle activity and by driving the secretion of chemicals called hormones. This centralized control allows rapid and coordinated responses to changes in the environment. Some basic types of responsiveness such as reflexes can be mediated by the spinal cord or peripheral ganglia, but sophisticated purposeful control of behavior based on complex sensory input requires the information integrating capabilities of a centralized brain. The operations of individual brain cells are now understood in considerable detail but the way they cooperate in ensembles of millions is yet to be solved. Recent models in modern neuroscience treat the brain as a biological computer, very different in mechanism from an electronic computer, but similar in the sense that it acquires information from the surrounding world, stores it, and processes it in a variety of ways. This article compares the properties of brains across the entire range of animal species, with the greatest attention to vertebrates. It deals with the human brain insofar as it shares the properties of other brains. The ways in which the human brain differs from other brains are covered in the human brain article. Several topics that might be covered here are instead covered there because much more can be said about them in a human context. The most important is brain disease and the effects of brain damage, that are covered in the human brain article.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Brainnoun

   the whitish mass of soft matter (the center of the nervous system, and the seat of consciousness and volition) which is inclosed in the cartilaginous or bony cranium of vertebrate animals. It is simply the anterior termination of the spinal cord, and is developed from three embryonic vesicles, whose cavities are connected with the central canal of the cord; the cavities of the vesicles become the central cavities, or ventricles, and the walls thicken unequally and become the three segments, the fore-, mid-, and hind-brain

2. Brainnoun

   the anterior or cephalic ganglion in insects and other invertebrates

3. Brainnoun

   the organ or seat of intellect; hence, the understanding

4. Brainnoun

   the affections; fancy; imagination

5. Brainverb

   to dash out the brains of; to kill by beating out the brains. Hence, Fig.: To destroy; to put an end to; to defeat

6. Brainverb

   to conceive; to understand

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Brain

   The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, adult sea squirts and starfish do not have one, even if diffuse neural tissue is present. It is located in the head, usually close to the primary sensory organs for such senses as vision, hearing, balance, taste, and smell. The brain of a vertebrate is the most complex organ of its body. In a typical human the cerebral cortex is estimated to contain 15–33 billion neurons, each connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons. These neurons communicate with one another by means of long protoplasmic fibers called axons, which carry trains of signal pulses called action potentials to distant parts of the brain or body targeting specific recipient cells. Physiologically, the function of the brain is to exert centralized control over the other organs of the body. The brain acts on the rest of the body both by generating patterns of muscle activity and by driving secretion of chemicals called hormones. This centralized control allows rapid and coordinated responses to changes in the environment. Some basic types of responsiveness such as reflexes can be mediated by the spinal cord or peripheral ganglia, but sophisticated purposeful control of behavior based on complex sensory input requires the information-integrating capabilities of a centralized brain.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Brain

   brān, n. the term applied to that part of the central nervous system which in vertebrated animals is contained within the cranium or skull, and in the invertebrata, to the nervous ganglia near the head end of the body: the seat of the intellect and of sensation: the intellect.—v.t. to dash out the brains of: (Shak.) to conceive of.—n. Brain′-cor′al, the popular name of certain kinds of coral, so called from their general resemblance to a brain.—p.adj. Brained, having brains.—n. Brain′-fe′ver, a loose popular term which includes congestion of the brain and its membranes, delirium tremens, and inflammation of the brain substance itself.—adjs. Brain′ish (Shak.), brain-sick, hot-headed, furious; Brain′less, without brains or understanding: silly.—n. Brain′-pan, the skull.—adj. Brain′-sick, diseased in the understanding, deranged.—adv. Brain′sick′ly (Shak.).—n. Brain′-sick′ness. [A.S. brægn; Dut. brein, prov. Ger. bregen]

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brain

   A commodity as scarce as radium and more precious, used to fertilize ideas.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Brain

   The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. BRAIN

   The top-floor apartment in the Human Block, known as the Cranium, and kept by the Sarah Sisters--Sarah Brum and Sarah Belum, assisted by Medulla Oblongata. All three are nervous, but are always confined to their cells. The Brain is done in gray and white, and furnished with light and heat, hot or cold water, (if desired), with regular connections to the outside world by way of the Spinal Circuit. Usually occupied by the Intellect Bros.,--Thoughts and Ideas--as an Intelligence Office, but sometimes sub-let to Jag, Hang-Over & Co.

Rap Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brainverb

   Fellatio or oral sex performed on a man. "I'll be blowing your mind while you're blowing my brains" -- Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brain

   A type of organ.

   Every human being has a brain and every animal too.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 31, 2019  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. brain

   The brain symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the brain symbol and its characteristic.

2. brain

   Song lyrics by brain -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by brain on the Lyrics.com website.

Entomology(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Brain

   that ganglion of the nervous system which lies in the head above the oesophagus; formed of the first three primitive ganglia: see supra-oesophageal.

Matched Categories

1. • Hit
   • Kill

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'brain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2197

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'brain' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2368

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'brain' in Nouns Frequency: #815

Anagrams for brain »

1. abrin

2. bairn

3. Brian

4. brian

5. riban

6. rabin

How to pronounce brain?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say brain in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of brain in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of brain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of brain in a Sentence

1. Jenny Santi:

   For example, [it’s] through fMRI technology that we now know that there are two brain reward systems that are activated when we are giving or when we are volunteering-- these are exactly the same parts of the brain that light up when we think of food and sex.

2. Marc Ganis:

   The connection between playing football and brain issues has been something that has been discussed for years and the NFL has been taking action to reduce the severity and provide funding to those who have been injured, the clearest example is the class action suit. ... Whenever you agree to pay out billions of dollars and you don't have an insurance company that has insured you the money, that's a statement to seriousness about the issue.

3. Oriana Aragon:

   That facial feedback sends info back to your brain, and it help scramble that primary emotion. Now the person that was overwhelmed is carried down and goes back to homeostatis. It helps people pull them back.

4. Vassilis Koliatsos:

   We typically think of traumatic brain injury as something that happens when an external force comes against your skull.

5. Barbara Bendlin:

   Our findings suggest that insulin resistance could increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease by affecting glucose metabolism in the brain.

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