gray matter

noun

1

: neural tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that contains nerve-cell bodies as well as nerve fibers and has a brownish-gray color

2

: brains, intellect

Synonyms

• brain(s)
• brainpower
• headpiece
• intellect
• intellectuality
• intelligence
• mentality
• reason
• sense
• smarts

Examples of gray matter in a Sentence

she's got the gray matter to figure that equation out

Recent Examples on the Web

The team found that just one to two units of alcohol a day reduced overall brain volume and gray matter volumes across a number of areas, and microstructures in the white matter. —New Atlas, 28 Feb. 2025

The device is connected to one or two leads that the surgeon carefully inserts into the brain; depending on where the seizures originate, the surgeon may place the leads on the surface of the cortex or implant them deep in the gray matter. —Tim Denison, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Jan. 2015

After giving birth, women whose brains had recovered more of their gray matter volume reported better mental health and bonding with their babies too. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025

The research specifically found a link between HDL particle size and greater gray matter volume on brain scans. —Hannah Singleton, Health, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gray matter

• backscatter
• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• latter

Kids Definition

gray matter

noun

1

: nerve tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that has a brownish gray color

2

: intelligence sense 1

Medical Definition

gray matter

noun

: neural tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that contains cell bodies as well as nerve fibers, has a brownish gray color, and forms most of the cortex and nuclei of the brain, the columns of the spinal cord, and the bodies of ganglia

called also gray substance