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   Mri | Definition of Mri by Merriam-Webster
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Homograph']="true";window.mwHeapEvents['Definition - Number of Words']=44;window.mwHeapEvents['Definition - Number of Senses']=3;</script><div class=container data-word-click=enabled id=definition-wrapper><div class=row><div class="left-content col-lg-7 col-xl-8"id=left-content><span class=anchor-name data-hom=1 href=# id=h1-anchor> </span><div class="row entry-header"><div class=col-12><h1 class=hword>MRI</h1><span class=fl>  <a class=important-blue-link href=/dictionary/noun> noun </a>  </span></div><div class="col-12 save-to-list"><a data-ref=dictionary data-word=MRI href=/saved-words id=save-to-list-link> <span class="ul-add-icon ul-icon"> <svg viewbox="0 0 14 19"class=ul-word-list-icon height=19px version=1.1 width=14px xmlns=http://www.w3.org/2000/svg xmlns:xlink=http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink><g fill=none fill-rule=evenodd id=WordList stroke=none stroke-width=1><rect class=rect-fill height=9 id=RectFill r=0 rx=0 ry=0 stroke=none width=12 x=1 y=1></rect><polygon points="1 8 13 8 13 17 7 12.6775391 1 17"fill=#97bece id=Path-10></polygon><polygon points="1 1 13 1 13 17 6.98357563 12.2587174 1 17"id=Path-11 stroke=#fff stroke-width=1.5></polygon></g></svg> </span> <span id=save-to-list-txt> Save Word </span> </a></div></div><div class=ul-must-login-def><div id=save-word-login-html></div></div><div class="row entry-attr"><div class=col><span class=prs> <span class=first-slash> \ </span> <span class=pr> ˌem-(ˌ)är-ˈī </span> <a class="play-pron hw-play-pron"data-title="How to pronounce MRI (audio)"title="How to pronounce MRI (audio)"data-dir=m data-file=mri0001m data-lang=en_us data-url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=m&file=mri0001m href=/dictionary/MRI?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=m&file=mri0001m> <img alt="How to pronounce MRI (audio)"class=svg src=/images/svg/audio.svg> </a> <span class=last-slash> \ </span> </span></div></div><div id=dictionary-entry-1><div class="row vg-header"><div class=col><h2>Definition of <em> MRI </em></h2><p class=entryNumbers></div></div><div class=vg><div class="sb no-sn"><span class=sb-0> <div class="sense no-subnum"><span class="dt hasSdSense"> <span class=dtText> <strong class=mw_t_bc> : </strong> <a href="/dictionary/magnetic resonance imaging"class=mw_t_sx> <span class=text-uppercase> magnetic resonance imaging </span> </a> </span> </span><span class=sdsense> <span class=sd> also </span> <span class=dtText> <strong class=mw_t_bc> : </strong> the procedure in which magnetic resonance imaging is used </span> </span></div> </span></div></div></div><span id=anchor-seporator> </span><div class="widget firstknown-list"id=first-known-anchor><h2>First Known Use of <em> MRI </em></h2><p class=ety-sl data-entry-id=1>1982, in the meaning defined <a href=#h1> above </a></div><div class="d-block d-lg-none d-xl-none ads"><p class="text-center disclaimer font-italic">Keep scrolling for more<div class="light-break above-ads"></div><div class="abl mw-ad-slot-top abl-m300-t728-d728 mw-ad-slot-content"></div><div class="light-break below-ads"></div></div><div class="heavy-break learn-more-module-anchor"id=learn-more-anchor></div><div class="widget learn_more"><h2 class=learn-more-header>Learn More About <em> MRI </em></h2><div class=light-break></div><div class=row id=social-sidebar-container><div class=col-md-6 id=share-anchor><p class=hword2>Share <em> MRI </em><div class=row><div class=col><a class="fb share-link"data-share-description="magnetic resonance imaging; also : the procedure in which magnetic resonance imaging is used… See the full definition"data-share-title="Definition of MRI"data-share-image=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/social-media-share/mw-logo-245x245@1x.png data-share-url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI href=#> <span class=aria-text> Post the Definition of MRI to Facebook </span> <img alt=Facebook class=svg src=/images/svg/facebook.svg> </a><a class="twitter share-link"data-share-text="This is the @MerriamWebster definition of 'mri'"data-share-url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI href=#> <span class=aria-text> Share the Definition of MRI on Twitter </span> <img alt=Twitter class=svg src=/images/svg/twitter.svg> </a></div></div></div><div class=col-md-6 id=time-traveler-anchor><p class=hword2>Time Traveler for <em> MRI </em></p><a class=time-traveler href=/time-traveler/1982?src=learn-more-timetraveler> <img alt="Time Traveler"class=svg src=/images/svg/time-traveler.svg> </a><h2 class=hword4>The first known use of <em> MRI </em> was in 1982</h2><p><a class=see-more href=/time-traveler/1982?src=defrecirc-timetraveler-etycard> See more words from the same year </a></div></div><div class=row id=browse-dictionary><div class=col-md-6 id=near-entries-anchor><h2>Dictionary Entries Near <em> MRI </em></h2><p><a class=b-link data-ind=4 href=/dictionary/mrg> mrg </a><p class=active><span class="b-link hw-text"data-ind=5> MRI </span><p><a class=b-link data-ind=6 href=/dictionary/mridanga> mridanga </a></p><a class="widget-button hoverable see-more-browse"href=/browse/dictionary/m/57> See More Nearby Entries  <svg class="svg double-arrows"viewbox="0 0 20 20"height=18px version=1.1 width=18px xmlns=http://www.w3.org/2000/svg xmlns:xlink=http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink><g class=Button_DoubleArrow fill=none fill-rule=evenodd stroke=none stroke-width=1><g transform="translate(0.000000, -2.000000)"class=Icon/Button/DoubleArrow fill=#ffffff><path class="outline Oval-2"d="M10,20 C14.418278,20 18,16.418278 18,12 C18,7.581722 14.418278,4 10,4 C5.581722,4 2,7.581722 2,12 C2,16.418278 5.581722,20 10,20 Z M10,22 C4.4771525,22 0,17.5228475 0,12 C0,6.4771525 4.4771525,2 10,2 C15.5228475,2 20,6.4771525 20,12 C20,17.5228475 15.5228475,22 10,22 Z"fill-rule=nonzero></path><path class="logo »"d="M14.5324998,12.5078125 L11.6340623,16.046875 L9.92312479,15.1171875 L12.0949998,12.3984375 L9.92312479,9.6796875 L11.6340623,8.75 L14.5324998,12.3046875 L14.5324998,12.5078125 Z M10.5793748,12.5078125 L7.68093729,16.046875 L5.96999979,15.1171875 L8.14187479,12.3984375 L5.96999979,9.6796875 L7.68093729,8.75 L10.5793748,12.3046875 L10.5793748,12.5078125 Z"></path></g></g></svg> </a></div><div class=col-md-6 id=statistics-anchor><h2>Statistics for <em> MRI </em></h2><div class=pop-update-wrapper><div class=hidden id=popularity-block-wrapper><span class="subheader-sm function-title"> Look-up Popularity </span><p class=popularity-block id=popularity-block></div></div></div><div class=col-md-6 id=cite-anchor><p class=hword2>Cite this Entry<p id=citationText>“MRI.” <em> Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary </em> , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI. Accessed 31 Oct. 2021.<div class=custom-select-wrapper><div class=citation-select><div class=custom-select__trigger><span class=custom-select-placeholder> <b> Style: </b> MLA </span><div class=custom-select-arrow></div></div><div class=custom-options><span class="custom-option selected"data-attr="“MRI.” <em>Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary</em>, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI. Accessed 31 Oct. 2021."data-value=mla height=16 width=16> MLA <img alt="Check Mark Icon"src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/app-css-images/global/blue-check.svg> </span><span data-attr="<em>Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary</em>, s.v. “MRI,” accessed October 31, 2021, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MRI."class=custom-option data-value=chicago height=16 width=16> Chicago <img alt="Check Mark Icon"src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/app-css-images/global/blue-check.svg> </span><span data-attr="Merriam-Webster. (n.d.).  MRI. 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icon"data-ret-pref="october 29 calendar icon-8749-03e4e8ed73932abb5af7d9d5ed03bd8b"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/october 29 calendar icon-8749-03e4e8ed73932abb5af7d9d5ed03bd8b@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/october 29 calendar icon-8749-03e4e8ed73932abb5af7d9d5ed03bd8b@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/october 29 calendar icon-8749-03e4e8ed73932abb5af7d9d5ed03bd8b@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=art-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=article image-id=8749 is_retina=true pair-id=8751 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. 29 </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> From the week ending 10/29/2021 </span></div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/words-at-play/11-words-used-by-edgar-allan-poe> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="raven illustration"data-ret-pref="raven illustration-7803-951725b145b37993039b5521ec635623"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-global-footer-recirc/raven illustration-7803-951725b145b37993039b5521ec635623@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-global-footer-recirc/raven illustration-7803-951725b145b37993039b5521ec635623@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-global-footer-recirc/raven illustration-7803-951725b145b37993039b5521ec635623@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=gal-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=gallery image-id=7803 is_retina=true pair-id=7805 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> 11 Words Used by Edgar Allan Poe </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> The Vocabulary in the Rue Morgue </span></div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="455 new words and definitions"data-ret-pref="455 new words and definitions-8742-2f19b7b6db82ebef35fc794d7c07411c"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/455 new words and definitions-8742-2f19b7b6db82ebef35fc794d7c07411c@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/455 new words and definitions-8742-2f19b7b6db82ebef35fc794d7c07411c@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/article/art-global-footer-recirc/455 new words and definitions-8742-2f19b7b6db82ebef35fc794d7c07411c@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=art-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=article image-id=8742 is_retina=true pair-id=8744 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> We Added New Words to the Dictionary for October 2021 </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> From 'dad bod' to 'deplatform' </span></div> </a></ul></div><div class="additional-items additional-items-widget"><span class=items__header> Ask the Editors </span><ul><li><a class=item-card href=/video/everyday-vs-every-day-difference> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day"data-ret-pref="illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day-8439-073fc0ed2e7d5080af2c34bde05f9827"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day-8439-073fc0ed2e7d5080af2c34bde05f9827@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day-8439-073fc0ed2e7d5080af2c34bde05f9827@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day-8439-073fc0ed2e7d5080af2c34bde05f9827@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=vid-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=video image-id=8439 is_retina=true pair-id=8441 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> 'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day' </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> A simple trick to keep them separate </span></div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/video/what-is-semantic-bleaching> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="semantic bleaching text on white background"data-ret-pref="semantic bleaching text on white background-8440-29f06d6041bc05c2f7dc7e2d78073b64"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/semantic bleaching text on white background-8440-29f06d6041bc05c2f7dc7e2d78073b64@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/semantic bleaching text on white background-8440-29f06d6041bc05c2f7dc7e2d78073b64@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/semantic bleaching text on white background-8440-29f06d6041bc05c2f7dc7e2d78073b64@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=vid-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=video image-id=8440 is_retina=true pair-id=8442 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> How 'literally' can mean "figuratively" </span></div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/video/literally> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="video literally"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-literally-1143@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-literally-1143@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=vid-global-footer-recirc data-ret-pref=video-literally-1143 data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-literally-1143@1x.jpg data-type=video image-id=1143 is_retina=true pair-id=1145 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Literally </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe... </span></div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/video/the-awkward-case-of-his-or-her> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="video his or her"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-his-or-her-1148@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-his-or-her-1148@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=vid-global-footer-recirc data-ret-pref=video-his-or-her-1148 data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/video/vid-global-footer-recirc/video-his-or-her-1148@1x.jpg data-type=video image-id=1148 is_retina=true pair-id=1150 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice? </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> The awkward case of 'his or her' </span></div> </a></ul></div><div class="additional-items additional-items-widget"><span class=items__header> Word Games </span><ul><li><a class=item-card href=/word-games/new-words-quiz-2021> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="an illustration of a stork delivering speech bubbles"data-ret-pref="an illustration of a stork delivering speech bubbles-8747-b382ee0f724d0fe07a6b51ba6f94209e"data-src="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/an illustration of a stork delivering speech bubbles-8747-b382ee0f724d0fe07a6b51ba6f94209e@1x.jpg"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/an illustration of a stork delivering speech bubbles-8747-b382ee0f724d0fe07a6b51ba6f94209e@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/an illustration of a stork delivering speech bubbles-8747-b382ee0f724d0fe07a6b51ba6f94209e@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=quiz-global-footer-recirc data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-type=quiz image-id=8747 is_retina=true pair-id=8749 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Our Favorite New Words </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> How many do you know? </span><p class=quiz-link>Take the quiz</div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/word-games/animal-words-quiz> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="baby panda"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/baby-panda-2930-511017339256ae045f863d1fc2f28f4d@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/baby-panda-2930-511017339256ae045f863d1fc2f28f4d@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-caption data-credit data-dim=quiz-global-footer-recirc data-ret-pref=baby-panda-2930-511017339256ae045f863d1fc2f28f4d data-ret-x=1 data-sizes=auto data-src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/quiz/quiz-global-footer-recirc/baby-panda-2930-511017339256ae045f863d1fc2f28f4d@1x.jpg data-type=quiz image-id=2930 is_retina=true pair-id=2933 src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Words from Animals Quiz </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> A list of animals and vocab. </span><p class=quiz-link>Take the quiz</div> </a><li><a class=item-card href=/word-games/spell-it> <div class=item-content><span> <span class="lazyload-container ratio-3-2"> <img alt="Spell It"data-srcset="https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/images/old-quizzes/spell-it/261x174@1x.jpg 1x, https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/images/old-quizzes/spell-it/261x174@2x.jpg 2x"class=lazyload data-dim=261x174 data-sizes=auto data-src=https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/static/images/old-quizzes/spell-it/261x174@1x.jpg src=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==> </span> </span><span class=item-title-text> Spell It </span><p class=mell-gr235><span> Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? </span><p class=quiz-link>Take the quiz</div> </a></ul></div></div><div class="border-box mobile-fixed-ad"id=fixed-ad-bottom><div class="abl abl-m320-t728-d728"><div id=mw-ad-slot-mobile-fixed-ad></div></div></div><script>window.mwdata.firstHwFound="MRI";window.mwdata.time="1635701037";window.mwdata.rp=encodeURIComponent("dictionary");window.mwdata.usp=encodeURIComponent("MRI");window.mwdata.esid=encodeURIComponent("mp-esid-617ed12dd9a1c");</script><footer class=global-footer><div class="footer-mast clearfix"><div class="mw-logo-section lazyload"><a class=footer-logo href=/> Merriam Webster </a></div><div class="footer-mast-content clearfix"><div class=footer-subscribe-block><div class=footer-subscribe-msg><p>Learn a new word every day. 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