diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbē-tēz  -ˈbē-təs 

: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine

especially : diabetes mellitus

Examples of diabetes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ferrer said the county depends on nearly $1 billion in federal funding annually to track and prevent communicable diseases and combat chronic health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. —Angela Hart, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026

Those at greatest risk of having latent TB become an active infection are those who’ve been exposed to someone with active TB, people who have weakened immune systems from diseases such as HIV and diabetes, and young children under 5 years old. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026

The Colorado Medical Society, which voted to support removing sugary beverages from SNAP in 2023, submitted a letter noting that studies repeatedly have linked those drinks to negative health outcomes, including obesity and diabetes. —Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 7 Mar. 2026

Older adults with Type 2 diabetes who started GLP-1s had an 11% higher risk of fragility fractures compared to those taking other diabetes medications, a study published in February in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diabet, diabete, borrowed from Late Latin diabētēs, borrowed from Greek diabḗtēs, from diabē-, variant stem of diabaínein "to stride, walk or stand with legs apart, step across, cross over" (from dia- dia- + baínein "to step, walk") + -tēs, suffix of agency — more at come entry 1

Note: The literal sense of Greek diabḗtēs in relation to the base verb diabaínein is not entirely clear. The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia (active ca. 130-40 A.D.), author of a detailed description of diabetes mellitus (in Book 2 of De causis et signis diuturnorum morborum), takes the name of the disorder as a given, and explains it as a particular application of the word diabḗtēs, the meaning of which he seems to regard as self-evident. It has been assumed that he alludes to diabḗtēs in the sense "siphon," referring to frequent urination, as if liquid was being drawn out of the sufferer by a siphon. In the following clause, however, he maintains that moisture (tò hygrón) does not stay in the body but leaves it "as if by a diabáthrē ("hókōs diabáthrēi")." The word diabáthra (Ionic diabáthrē)—also a derivative of diabaínein—has various attested meanings: "ladder," "gangway," "bridge." The suggestion has been made that "bridge" or "channel" is the most appropriate sense, though the mixing of metaphors is perhaps an indication that the text is corrupt, or that some no longer recoverable sense of the word is in play. (See discussion in Chalmers L. Gemmill, "The Greek concept of diabetes," Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, vol. 48, no. 8 [September, 1972], pp. 1033-36.)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing diabetes

• adult-onset diabetes
• diabetes insipidus
• diabetes mellitus
• insulin-dependent diabetes
• insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
• juvenile diabetes
• juvenile-onset diabetes
• non-insulin-dependent diabetes
• non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Rhymes for diabetes

• philoctetes
• actinomycetes
• ascomycetes
• basidiomycetes
• entreaties
• metes
• treaties

Kids Definition

diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz  -ˈbēt-əs 

: any of various bodily conditions in which abnormally large amounts of urine are produced

especially : diabetes mellitus

Medical Definition

diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz  -ˈbēt-əs 

plural diabetes

: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine

especially : diabetes mellitus