toxin

noun

tox·​in ˈtäk-sən 

: a poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism and is usually very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues, and typically capable of inducing antibody formation

Did you know?

Toxins Are Often Found in Nature

Long before chemists started creating poisons from scratch, humans were employing natural toxins for killing weeds and insects. For centuries South American tribes have used the toxin curare, extracted from a native vine, to tip their arrows. The garden flower called wolfsbane or monkshood is the source of aconite, an extremely potent toxin. The common flower known as jimsonweed contains the deadly poison scopolamine. And the castor-oil plant yields the almost unbelievably poisonous toxin called ricin. Today we hear health advisers of all kinds talk about ridding the body of toxins; but they're usually pretty vague about which ones they mean, and most of these "toxins" wouldn't be called that by biologists.

Synonyms

• bane
• poison
• toxic
• venom

Examples of toxin in a Sentence

the toxin in scorpion venom

read a pamphlet on the toxin responsible for botulism, a food poisoning that can cause paralysis and even death in some cases

Recent Examples on the Web

Venomous creatures are milked, then a small, non-harmful amount of toxin is injected into animals like horses or sheep. —Jackie Fortiér, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2024

This can lead to foodborne botulism, a rare but serious condition caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. —Lindsey Desoto, Rd, Health, 29 Oct. 2024

But by the 1970s, Australia’s native animals were dying off at an alarming rate after coming into contact with the toad’s toxin. —Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2024

And starting antibiotics during this stage can’t speed recovery—the bacterial toxins have already run rampant. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing toxin

• botulinum toxin
• environmental toxin

Kids Definition

toxin

noun

tox·​in ˈtäk-sən 

: a substance produced by a living organism (as a bacterium) that is very poisonous to other organisms and that usually causes antibody formation compare antitoxin

Etymology

derived from Latin tox- "poisonous" and English -in "chemical compound"; tox- from toxicum "poison," from Greek toxikon "arrow poison," from toxon "bow, arrow" — related to intoxicate, toxic see Word History at intoxicate

Medical Definition

toxin

noun

tox·​in ˈtäk-sən 

: a colloidal proteinaceous poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism and is usually very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues, and typically capable of inducing antibody formation