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. Megan Huylo:

   It’s going to protect our cells from any damage from free radicals that’s going to damage skin cell membrane.

2. Robert Bleischwitz:

   In cases where the flow is at higher risk of detaching from the surface; so your vehicle has a risk to sag down, to fall down. In that period a membrane wing can keep it afloat because the dynamics in the surface trigger vortices which roll down the wing, and these vortices produce lift. So you can use this vortex generation to produce lift. And you need the membrane to excite, generate these vortices.

3. Robert West:

   If you never touched Your Face, Your Face wouldn't matter if you didn't wash your hands. Your hands could be as dirty or as contaminated as you like, the only reason why it's important is because eventually your hands are going to come in contact with a mucus membrane. It's the mucus membranes that are the key...( they) act as the pathway into the body.

4. Thomas Steinemann:

   Conjunctiva is modified mucus membrane, like the inside of your mouth or the inside of your nose or nasal cavity and pharynx, it's moist and nice and hospitable for viruses, in fact there's lots of organisms that can stick very readily to Thomas Steinemann conjunctiva, or for that matter, stick on a contact lens that is also resting on Thomas Steinemann conjunctiva.

5. David Kasle:

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

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