What does necrose mean?
Necrose is a technical verb meaning to cause the death of cells or tissue, or for tissue itself to undergo such death. In transitive use, something such as disease, injury, heat, or a chemical causes tissue to become necrotic; in intransitive use, the affected cells or tissue die. The term is especially common in medicine and biology but also appears in agricultural and plant-pathological writing about damaged crops, diseased plants, and rotting tissue. Necrose is more exact than saying that something has been killed because it specifically refers to the death of cells or an organized body structure. It is closely related to the noun necrosis, which names the condition, and to the adjective necrotic, which describes tissue that has died. Together, these forms allow speakers to distinguish the process, the resulting condition, and the action that brings it about.
verbTo cause the death of cells or tissue, so that it becomes necrotic; also, of tissue itself, to undergo cell death.
- To cause cells or tissue to die and become necrotic, or of tissue itself, to undergo such death.
"Prolonged drought caused the leaves to necrose."
"When the tissue was exposed to extreme heat, the cells began to necrose."
"The pathogen can necrose plant tissue, producing dark lesions on the leaves."
From a Greek root meaning “dead,” necrose gives the death of living tissue its own sharply defined verb.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does necrose come from?
Necrose was formed in English as a back-formation from the established noun necrosis. Necrosis comes from Greek nekrōsis, a term derived from nekrós, meaning “dead.” The same Greek root appears in related English words such as necrotic, necrotize, and necrology, linking their meanings to death, especially the death of living tissue.
Related word forms
How necrose is actually used
Necrose is a technical verb used chiefly in medicine, biology, agriculture, and plant pathology. It may be used transitively for the act of causing tissue death and intransitively for tissue undergoing that process.
Easily confused with necrose
Necrose is a verb describing the process of tissue death, whereas necrosis is the noun naming the condition or process itself.