branch

n.

1. 1. A secondary woody stem or limb growing from the trunk or main stem of a tree or shrub or from another secondary limb.
   2. A lateral division or subdivision of certain other plant parts, such as a root or flower cluster.
2. Something that resembles a branch of a tree, as in form or function, as:
   1. A secondary outgrowth or subdivision of a main axis, such as the tine of a deer's antlers.
   2. Anatomy. An offshoot or a division of the main portion of a structure, especially that of a nerve, blood vessel, or lymphatic vessel; a ramus.
3. A limited part of a larger or more complex unit or system, especially:
   1. An area of specialized skill or knowledge, especially academic or vocational, that is related to but separate from other areas: the judicial branch of government; the branch of medicine called neurology.
   2. A division of a business or other organization.
   3. A division of a family, categorized by descent from a particular ancestor.
   4. Linguistics. A subdivision of a family of languages, such as the Germanic branch of Indo-European.
4. 1. A tributary of a river.
   2. Chiefly Southern U.S. See creek (sense 1). See Regional Note at run.
   3. A divergent section of a river, especially near the mouth.
5. Mathematics. A part of a curve that is separated, as by discontinuities or extreme points.
6. Computer Science.
   1. A sequence of program instructions to which the normal sequence of instructions relinquishes control, depending on the value of certain variables.
   2. The instructions executed as the result of such a passing of control.

v., branched, branch·ing, branch·es.

v.intr.

1. To put forth a branch or branches; spread by dividing.
2. 1. To come forth as a branch or subdivision; develop or diverge from: an unpaved road that branches from the main road; a theory that branches from an older system of ideas.
   2. To enlarge the scope of one's interests, business, or activities: branch out from physics into related fields.
3. Computer Science. To relinquish control to another set of instructions or another routine as a result of the presence of a branch.

v.tr.

1. To separate (something) into or as if into branches.
2. To embroider (something) with a design of foliage or flowers.

[Middle English, from Old French branche, from Late Latin branca, paw, perhaps of Celtic origin.]

branchless branch'less adj.
branchy branch'y adj.

SYNONYMS   branch, arm, fork, offshoot. These nouns denote something resembling or structurally similar to a limb of a tree: a branch of a railroad; an arm of the sea; the western fork of the river; an offshoot of a mountain range.

(1) In a low-level programming language, a statement that directs the computer to go to some other part of the program. In assembly languages, "branch" or "jump" instructions provide this capability. In high-level languages, a "goto" statement, as well as several other programming constructs, provide the equivalent of the branch. For example, "IF A EQUALS B GOTO MATCH_ROUTINE." See branch prediction and do loop.

(2) A connection between two blocks in a flowchart or two nodes in a network.

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noun

1. Something resembling or structurally analogous to a tree branch: arm, fork, offshoot. See part/whole.
2. An area of academic study that is part of a larger body of learning: discipline, specialty. See part/whole.
3. A local unit of a business or an auxiliary controlled by such a business: affiliate, division, subsidiary. See part/whole.
4. A component of government that performs a given function: agency, arm, department, division, organ, wing. See part/whole.
5. A part of a family, tribe, or other group, or of such a group's language, that is believed to stem from a common ancestor: division, offshoot, subdivision. See part/whole.
6. A small stream: brook, creek. Chiefly Regional kill, run. See dry/wet.

verb

To separate into branches or branchlike parts. bifurcate, diverge, divide, fork, ramify, subdivide. See part/whole.

Idioms beginning with branch:
branch off
branch out

See also olive branch; root and branch.

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n

Definition: department
Antonyms: company

n

Definition: limb
Antonyms: trunk

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n. 1. a subdivision of any organization.

2. a geographically separate unit of an activity that performs all or part of the primary functions of the parent activity on a smaller scale. Unlike an annex, a branch is not merely an overflow addition.

3. an arm or service of the army.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

In plumbing, a pipe which originates in or discharges into a main, submain, riser, or stack.

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1. ramus; a division or offshoot from a main stem, especially of blood vessels, nerves or lymphatics.
2. the bearing surface of the horseshoe that supports the wall of the hoof. There is a lateral and a medial branch.

• bundle b. — a branch of the bundle of His.
• communicating gray b. — postganglionic nerve fibers coursing between the sympathetic ganglia and the spinal nerves; destined for skin glands, blood vessels and the like; join spinal and cranial nerves.
• communicating white b. — preganglionic fibers of the sympathetic system originate in the lateral columns of the spinal cord and pass to the spinal nerves and then, via the communicating white fibers, to the ganglia of the sympathetic trunk.

(DOD) 1. A subdivision of any organization. 2. A geographically separate unit of an activity which performs all or part of the primary functions of the parent activity on a smaller scale. Unlike an annex, a branch is not merely an overflow addition. 3. An arm or service of the Army. 4. The contingency options built into the basic plan. A branch is used for changing the mission, orientation, or direction of movement of a force to aid success of the operation based on anticipated events, opportunities, or disruptions caused by enemy actions and reactions. See also sequel.

A secondary woody stem or limb growing from the trunk or main stem of a plant.

IN BRIEF: Part of a tree or bush that grows out from the trunk. Something that goes out of or into a main part.

On one large branch of the oak tree, two squirrels ran around merrily chasing each other.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - gren, forgrening
v. intr. - bøje af, forgrene sig, fordele sig
v. tr. - opdele, inddele

idioms:

• branch line    sidelinje
• branch off    bøje af, dele sig, forgrene sig
• branch out    ekspandere, udvide

Nederlands (Dutch)
tak, filiaal, wegsplitsing, afsplitsing, branche, afdwalen, vertakken

Français (French)
n. - branche, bras, branche (d'une rivière), ramification (d'une montagne), embranchement, bifurcation (de chemin de fer), raccordement, branchement (d'un tuyau), branche (d'une famille), (Ling) rameau, branche (d'une science), (Admin) division, section, (Comm) succursale, agence succursale, antenne (police, force), (Comput) branchement, (US) ruisseau
v. intr. - se ramifier
v. tr. - se ramifier, ramifier

idioms:

• branch line    (Rail) ligne secondaire
• branch off    bifurquer
• branch out    se diversifier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Zweig, Ast, Filiale, Zweigstelle, Abzweigung
v. - sich verzweigen

idioms:

• branch line    Nebenstrecke
• branch off    abbiegen
• branch out    abzweigen, sein Gebiet erweitern

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κλαδί, κλαρί, διακλάδωση, υποκατάστημα, τμήμα, κλάδος, υποδιαίρεση, παρακλάδι, παράρτημα
v. - βγάζω κλαδιά, διακλαδώνομαι, χωρίζομαι

idioms:

• branch line    δευτερεύουσα (σιδηροδρομική) γραμμή
• branch off    στρέφω προς άλλη κατεύθυνση, διακλαδίζομαι
• branch out    επεκτείνομαι, δημιουργώ παραρτήματα ή υποκαταστήματα

Italiano (Italian)
ramo, divisione, filiale, succursale, agenzia, diramazione, braccio

idioms:

• branch line    linea secondaria
• branch off    ramificarsi
• branch out    ramificarsi, estendersi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - galho (m) de árvore, braço (m) de rio (Geogr.), divisão (f), ramo (m)
v. - ramificar

idioms:

• branch line    ramal (m) de estrada de ferro
• branch off    divergir
• branch out    ampliar interesses e atividades

Русский (Russian)
ветвь, отделение, филиал, ответвление

idioms:

• branch line    побочная линия
• branch off    отделяться, ответвляться
• branch out    расширяться

Español (Spanish)
n. - brazo, rama, ramo, sección, división, filial, sucursal, bifurcación, derivación
v. intr. - echar ramas, ramificarse, bifurcarse, divergir, desviarse
v. tr. - bordar imitando ramajes, dividir en ramas, bifurcar, derivar

idioms:

• branch line    ramal
• branch off    extender sus actividades
• branch out    diversificarse, bifurcarse

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gren, kvist, bransch, filial, bibana, grenrör
v. - skjuta ut grenar, förgrena sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
树枝, 支流, 支店, 分支, 出枝, 分割, 用枝叶装饰

idioms:

• branch line    支线路, 分歧线, 支线
• branch off    分叉
• branch out    长出枝条, 扩展范围

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 樹枝, 支流, 支店
v. intr. - 分支, 出枝
v. tr. - 分割, 用枝葉裝飾

idioms:

• branch line    支線路, 分歧線, 支線
• branch off    分叉
• branch out    長出枝條, 擴展範圍

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 가지, 지점, 부문
v. intr. - 가지가 나오다, 갈라지다
v. tr. - ~을 가지모양으로 가르다, ~을 자수로 장식하다

idioms:

• branch off    갈라지다
• branch out    활동을 다른 분야까지 넓히다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 枝, 支社, 分家, 部門, 支流, 支線
v. - 枝を出す, 分岐する

idioms:

• branch line    分岐線路, 支線
• branch off    わき道に入る
• branch out    枝を出す, 新分野へ手を広げる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فرع, جذع, شعبه (فعل) تفرع, تشعب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ענף, סניף, זרוע, שלוחה‬
v. intr. - ‮התפצל, הסתעף‬
v. tr. - ‮ענף, סניף, התפצל, הסתעף, זרוע, פיצל לסניפים, קישט ברקמה‬

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branch cutter	graphite olive branch pencil
graphite olive branch	olive branch menorah