hormone
UK /ˈhɔːməʊn/ · US /ˈhoɹmoʊn/ noun, verb
Forms hormones hormoning hormoned
- noun (physiology) Any substance produced by one tissue and conveyed by the bloodstream to another to effect physiological activity.
- noun (pharmacology) A synthetic compound with the same activity.
- noun (LGBTQ, colloquial, usually in the plural) Sex hormones, as used in hormone replacement therapy for transgender or intersex people. “I'm going to be going to slightly higher doses of hormones soon.”
- noun (botany) Any similar substance in plants.
- verb (transitive, colloquial) To treat with hormones.
Synonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁρμῶν (hormôn), present participle of ὁρμάω (hormáō, “to set in motion, to urge on”), from ὁρμή (hormḗ, “rapid motion forwards, onrush, onset, assault, impulse to do a thing, effort”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hormone”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details