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⇱ gray matter - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

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gray matter

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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ˈgray ˌmat•ter, n. [uncountable]

Anatomyreddish gray nerve tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting chiefly of nerve cell bodies, with few nerve fibers. Compare white matter.
[Informal.]brains or intellect.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

gray′ mat′ter,

Anatomynerve tissue, esp. of the brain and spinal cord, that contains fibers and nerve cell bodies and is dark reddish-gray. Cf. white matter.
[Informal.]brains or intellect.

1830–40

'gray matter' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

grey matter - basal ganglion - cerebral cortex - corpus striatum - ganglion - indusium - polioencephalitis - white matter

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