cortex
noun
cor·tex
| \ ˈkȯr-ˌteks
\
\
plural cortices\ ˈkȯr-tə-ˌsēz
\
or cortexes
\
or cortexes
Definition of cortex
1a(1)
: the outer or superficial part of an organ or bodily structure (such as the kidney, adrenal gland, or cerebellum or a bone)
especially
: cerebral cortex
(2)
: the proteinaceous usually pigmented layer of a hair below the cuticle
b
: the outer part of some organisms (such as paramecia)
2
: a plant bark or rind (such as cinchona) used medicinally
3a
: the typically parenchymatous layer of tissue external to the vascular tissue and internal to the corky or epidermal tissues of a green plant
broadly
: all tissues external to the xylem
b
: an outer or investing layer of various algae, lichens, or fungi
Examples of cortex in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Meyer says social media often negatively affects the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls decision-making and isn't fully developed until early adulthood. — Dallas News, "When popularity on social media exploded, North Texas teen had to rethink his priorities," 29 July 2019 Instead, there’s talk of brain regions like the cortex. — Sigal Samuel, Vox, "How your brain invents morality," 8 July 2019 The researchers recorded neural activity from the lateral entorhinal cortex and nearby brain regions. — Jordana Cepelewicz, WIRED, "How the Brain Keeps Its Memories in the Right Order," 17 Feb. 2019 The technology uses transcranial alternating current electrical stimulation (tACS) to enhance the connection between frontal parts of the cortex (crucial for working memory) and more posterior brain regions. — Vivienne Ming, Quartz, "Why I’m turning my son into a cyborg," 15 July 2019 Studies show that the adolescent brain is significantly different than an adult brain in that the frontal cortex is still developing. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Are Teenagers Having As Much Sex as "Riverdale" Thinks They Are?," 16 May 2019 In contrast, the elephant brain, which is three times the size of our own, has 251 billion neurons in its cerebellum, which helps manage a giant, versatile trunk, and only 5.6 billion in its cortex. — Quanta Magazine, "How Humans Evolved Supersize Brains," 10 Nov. 2015 In 2003, Indiana University biophysicist John Beggs and several colleagues were the first to demonstrate that slices of a brain's cortex showed evidence of an exponent relation. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Rat brains provide even more evidence our brains operate near tipping point," 7 June 2019 Together, the two studies suggest that the cortex both folds and unfolds differently in autism. — Rachel Zamzow, Scientific American, "Brains of Children with Autism Show Unusual Folding Patterns," 9 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cortex.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for cortex
cortex
noun
English Language Learners Definition of cortex
medical
: the outer layer of an organ in the body and especially of the brain
See the full definition for cortex in the English Language Learners Dictionary
cortex
noun
cor·tex
| \ ˈkȯr-ˌteks
\
\
plural cortices\ ˈkȯrt-ə-ˌsēz
\
or cortexes
\
or cortexes
Medical Definition of cortex
1a
: the outer or superficial part of an organ or body structure (as the kidney, adrenal gland, or a hair)
especially
: cerebral cortex
b
: the outer part of some organisms (as paramecia)
2a
: a plant bark or rind (as cinchona) used medicinally
b
: the peel of any of several fruits
—used especially in the writing of medical prescriptions
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