testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstä-stə-ˌrōn 

1

: a hormone that is a hydroxy steroid ketone C₁₉H₂₈O₂ produced especially by the testes or made synthetically and that is responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characters

2

: qualities (such as brawn and aggressiveness) usually associated with males : manliness

Examples of testosterone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lack of sleep disrupts the normal testosterone production cycle. —James Myhre & Dennis Sifris, Md, Verywell Health, 27 Feb. 2025

Some also encouraged consumers to buy specific treatments, like testosterone replacement therapy. —Dani Blum, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025

Vetters says recent research suggests that testosterone may not permanently impair fertility, and at least some transgender men have been to get pregnant after stopping hormone therapy, though the effects are still unclear. —Tyler Santora, Scientific American, 25 Feb. 2025

Moore is once again the only female player in a testosterone soup, this time comprised of Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Nicholson, and Kevin Pollak. —Eddie Mouradian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Testosteron, from Latin testēs testes + German -o- -o- + -steron -sterone

Note: The name was introduced by the Hungarian pharmacologists Karoly Gyula David (1905-45) and János Freud (1901-48), the Dutch endocrinologist Elisabeth Dingemanse (1886-1952), and the German-born Dutch physician and pharmacologist Ernst Laqueur (1880-1947) (all affiliated with the Pharmaco-Therapeutic Laboratory of the University of Amsterdam) in "Über krystallinisches männliches Hormon aus Hoden (Testosteron), wirksamer als aus Harn oder aus Cholesterin bereitetes Androsteron," Zeitschrift für physiologische Chemie, Band 233 (1935), pp. 281-83.

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for testosterone

• aldosterone
• anticyclone
• progesterone
• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone

Kids Definition

testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstäs-tə-ˌrōn 

: a male hormone produced by the testes that causes the development of the male reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics

Medical Definition

testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstäs-tə-ˌrōn 

: a male hormone that is a crystalline hydroxy steroid ketone C₁₉H₂₈O₂ produced primarily by the testes or made synthetically and that is the main androgen responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characteristics see androgel, axiron