refractory period

noun — 2 senses

refractory period

noun
1

Biology, Natural sciences The period, after excitation, during which a membrane recovers its polarization and is not able to respond to a second stimulus.

2

A recovery phase after orgasm, during which it is physiologically impossible for an individual to have additional orgasms.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.