branch (brănch)
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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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