sense organ

noun

: a bodily structure that receives a stimulus and is affected in such a manner as to initiate excitation of associated sensory nerve fibers which convey specific impulses to the central nervous system where they are interpreted as corresponding sensations : receptor

Examples of sense organ in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Our sense organs vibrate with specific forms of energy or matter (with matter being but a dense form of energy) and set off a chain reaction that turns into information, interpretation, actions and so forth. Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 Vertebrates, according to Britannica, have backbones to support their bodies, a distinct head, a differentiated brain and nasal, optic and otic (ear) sense organs. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2023 Research by psychologist Monica Fabiani and her colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that in older people the main problem might not be that the sense organ is rejecting input but rather that the brain itself is having trouble filtering out irrelevant information. Robert Epstein, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2012 Discovering a new organ Pyenson thinks that the new sense organ helps to coordinate this process. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 23 May 2012 Other senses are linked to openings in the body like eyes, ears and mouths, but there’s no obvious place to look for a magnetic sense organ because magnetic fields are pervasive and pass through the body. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2011 In this view, the brain operates like a telephone switchboard that maintains only reliable connections between incoming calls from our sense organs and outgoing messages to the muscles. Matthew Schafer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2020 This has revealed the brain, the sense organs, sinuses, blood vessels, and nerves that are hidden inside the skull of T. rex. Robert Clark, National Geographic, 2 June 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sense organ was in 1826

Dictionary Entries Near sense organ

Cite this Entry

“Sense organ.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sense%20organ. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

sense organ

noun
: a body part (as an eye or ear) that receives stimuli (as light or sound) in such a way as to excite nerve cells to send information to the brain

Medical Definition

sense organ

noun
: a bodily structure that receives a stimulus (as heat or sound waves) and is affected in such a manner as to initiate a wave of excitation in associated sensory nerve fibers which convey specific impulses to the central nervous system where they are interpreted as corresponding sensations : receptor

More from Merriam-Webster on sense organ

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!