Definitions for membrane
ˈmɛm breɪnmem·brane

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.2 / 6 votes

1. membranenoun

   a thin pliable sheet of material

2. membrane, tissue layernoun

   a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 4 votes

1. membranenoun

   A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments (usually in a plant or animal).

2. membranenoun

   A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force.

3. membranenoun

   A flexible or semi-flexible covering or waterproofing whose primary function is to exclude water.

4. Etymology: From membrana.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Membranenoun

   A membrane is a web of several sorts of fibres, interwoven together for the covering and wrapping up some parts: the fibres of the membranes give them an elasticity, whereby they can contract, and closely grasp, the parts they contain, and their nervous fibres give them an exquisite sense, which is the cause of their contraction; they can, therefore, scarcely suffer the sharpness of medicines, and are difficultly united when wounded. John Quincy

   Etymology: membrane, Fr. membrana, Latin.

   The chorion, a thick membrane obscuring the formation, the dam doth after tear asunder. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

   They obstacle find none
   Of membrane, joint, or limb, exclusive bars:
   Easier than air with air, if spirits embrace,
   Total they mix. John Milton.

   The inner membrane that involved the several liquors of the egg remained unbroken. Boyle.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Membrane

   A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Biological membranes include cell membranes (outer coverings of cells or organelles that allow passage of certain constituents); nuclear membranes, which cover a cell nucleus; and tissue membranes, such as mucosae and serosae. Synthetic membranes are made by humans for use in laboratories and industry (such as chemical plants). This concept of a membrane has been known since the eighteenth century but was used little outside of the laboratory until the end of World War II. Drinking water supplies in Europe had been compromised by the war and membrane filters were used to test for water safety. However, due to the lack of reliability, slow operation, reduced selectivity and elevated costs, membranes were not widely exploited. The first use of membranes on a large scale was with microfiltration and ultrafiltration technologies. Since the 1980s, these separation processes, along with electrodialysis, are employed in large plants and, today, several experienced companies serve the market.The degree of selectivity of a membrane depends on the membrane pore size. Depending on the pore size, they can be classified as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Membranes can also be of various thickness, with homogeneous or heterogeneous structure. Membranes can be neutral or charged, and particle transport can be active or passive. The latter can be facilitated by pressure, concentration, chemical or electrical gradients of the membrane process.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. membrane

   A membrane is a thin and flexible sheet of tissue that acts as a boundary, lining, or partition in organisms or cells, typically forming a barrier or protective covering. It regulates the passage of substances in and out of the cells. In a larger context, a membrane can also be any thin material that separates two entities or environments, such as in a technological or engineering context.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. Membranenoun

   a thin layer or fold of tissue, usually supported by a fibrous network, serving to cover or line some part or organ, and often secreting or absorbing certain fluids

2. Etymology: [F., fr. L. membrana the skin that covers the separate members of the body, fr. L. membrum. See Member.]

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 3 votes

1. Membrane

   In theoretical physics, a membrane, brane, or p-brane is a spatially extended mathematical concept that appears in string theory and related theories. The membrane exists in a static number of dimensions. The variable p refers to the number of spatial dimensions of the brane. That is, a 0-brane is a zero-dimensional pointlike particle, a 1-brane is a string, that can either be open or closed, a 2-brane is a "membrane", etc. Every p-brane sweeps out a-dimensional world volume as it propagates through spacetime.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Membrane

   mem′brān, n. (anat.) one of the thin textures which cover the organs or line the cavities or canals of the body: the film containing the seeds of a plant.—adjs. Membran′eous, Mem′branous, Membranā′ceous, relating to, consisting of, or like a membrane; Membranif′erous; Mem′braniform.—Mucous membrane, the membrane lining the various channels of the body which communicate with the outside. [Fr.,—L. membrana—membrum.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. membrane

   A flexible form of tissue or material.

   There are various types of membrane in the human body and it is also used for waterproof structures.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 26, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Sheet

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'membrane' in Nouns Frequency: #2575

How to pronounce membrane?

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 membrane in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of membrane in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of membrane in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of membrane in a Sentence

1. Peter Holme Jensen:

   It is essentially the mechanism that allows water to cross the cell membrane of living cells.

2. Rohan Schoeman:

   APPLE WATCH CATCHES GRANDMOTHERS HEART CONDITION, POSSIBLY SAVING HER LIFE The couple went missing in a snowstorm after spending a weekend with friends on November 3. Rescuers located Marsh in time after her husband sent friends photographs of their location. She was flown by air ambulance to the ValldHebron Hospital in Barcelona, where she was connected to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine. The machine stands in for the heart and lungs, pumping blood through the arteries and heating it, which raises the body temperature.Doctors believed she could survive if they treated the hypothermia. This is an exceptional case on a global scale, Eduard Argudo, a doctor from the Vall dHebron hospital told a press conference.There are practically no cases of people being revived after their heart has stopped for so long. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUT LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER When she arrived at the hospital, Mashsheart was showing no electrical activity and her kidneys and lungs were not functioning, doctors said. Eduard Argudo said the sharp fall in her body temperature may have saved her as the cold preserved her organs. Six hours after entering cardio-respiratory arrest, Marshs heart began to beat naturally again. Marsh, who spent 11 days in hospital recovering, has not suffered any long-term brain damage but has trouble moving her hands which were affected by the cold. When I went home I had damage to my hands. I could not do up my buttons on trousers or put in my earrings. These are small things which are going to get better, she said. Rohan Schoeman, Rohan Schoeman, 36, who is South African and works as a teacher, said the couple had spent the weekend with friends but left early morning without them. At one point the snowfall became very heavy. We found a rock and tried to use it for shelter to avoid adverse weather conditions. Once visibility improved, I could see that our friends had tried to contact us, audrey was losing consciousness so I tried to send some photos to our friends of where we were.

3. David Kasle:

   It's pretty unusual to have a tick that has embedded itself in the membrane like this.

4. Susanne Pors:

   The follicle is formed during fetal life [ when no cancer is present ] and is surrounded by a basal membrane that does not allow cancer cells to penetrate.

5. James Cooper:

   The membrane tensioning phase of sunshield deployment is especially challenging because there are complex interactions between the structures, the tensioning mechanisms, the cables and the membranes, this was the hardest part to test on the ground, so it feels awesome to have everything go so well today.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=membrane
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Membrane
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=membrane
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/membrane
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=membrane
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=membrane