PERIPHERAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does peripheral mean? 

• PERIPHERAL (noun)
  The noun PERIPHERAL has 1 sense:

1. electronic equipment external to the circuit board that contains the CPU of a computer

  Familiarity information: PERIPHERAL used as a noun is very rare.

• PERIPHERAL (adjective)
  The adjective PERIPHERAL has 2 senses:

1. on or near an edge or constituting an outer boundary; the outer area

2. related to the key issue but not of central importance

  Familiarity information: PERIPHERAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PERIPHERAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Electronic equipment external to the circuit board that contains the CPU of a computer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

computer peripheral; peripheral; peripheral device

Context example:

disk drives and printers are important peripherals

Hypernyms ("peripheral" is a kind of...):

electronic equipment (equipment that involves the controlled conduction of electrons (especially in a gas or vacuum or semiconductor))

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peripheral"):

data input device; input device (a device that can be used to insert data into a computer or other computational device)

output device (electronic or electromechanical equipment connected to a computer and used to transfer data out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds, or other media)

printer ((computer science) an output device that prints the results of data processing)

Holonyms ("peripheral" is a part of...):

computer; computing device; computing machine; data processor; electronic computer; information processing system (a machine for performing calculations automatically)

• PERIPHERAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

On or near an edge or constituting an outer boundary; the outer area

Context example:

peripheral suburbs

Similar:

circumferential (lying around or just outside the edges or outskirts)

fringy; marginal (at or constituting a border or edge)

encircling; skirting (being all around the edges; enclosing)

off-base (located outside a military base)

Antonym:

central (in or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area)

Derivation:

periphery (the outside boundary or surface of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Related to the key issue but not of central importance

Context example:

peripheral issues

Similar:

incident; incidental ((sometimes followed by 'to') minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence)

 Context examples 

A test result indicating a mild to moderate degree of anisopoikilocytosis in the peripheral blood.

(Mild to Moderate Anisopoikilocytosis, NCI Thesaurus)

These may be intrinsic, transmembrane proteins or peripheral proteins.

(Membrane Protein Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

CCR4, also known as CD194, may be overexpressed on adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) cells.

(Mogamulizumab, NCI Thesaurus)

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) are first harvested from a cancer patient and induced to express MOv-gamma.

(MOv-gamma, NCI Thesaurus)

The 31 paired peripheral nerves formed by the union of the dorsal and ventral spinal roots from each spinal cord segment.

(Murine Spinal Nerves, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Also called malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor.

(MPNST, NCI Dictionary)

The characteristic Burkitt cells are seen in the bone marrow and the peripheral blood.

(Adult Burkitt Leukemia, NCI Thesaurus)

A leukemia characterised by the absence of leukemic cells in the peripheral blood. — 2003

(Aleukemic Leukemia, NCI Thesaurus)

These specialized brain cells could be activated by stimulating heat-sensitive nerve cells in the animals’ skin, suggesting that the neurons use the body’s peripheral temperature sensors for heat detection.

(Brain cells that cool the body, NIH)

So in this study, the researchers explored further to see if these particles might move from bone marrow into peripheral circulation.

(Bone-Like Particles Found Travelling through Human Bloodstream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)