1
a
: a specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin that selectively removes materials from the blood, concentrates or alters them, and secretes them for further use in the body or for elimination from the body compare endocrine gland, exocrine gland
b
: any of various animal structures suggestive of glands though not secretory in function
2
: any of various secreting organs (such as a nectary) of plants
1
: a device for preventing leakage of fluid past a joint in machinery
2
: the movable part of a stuffing box by which the packing is compressed
Examples of gland in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Flow Space, 30 Sep. 2025
Their bellies are cream-white, their pectoral glands white and their vocal sacs black.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
No one knows why the processes of evolution recruited the lachrymal glands to convey this helplessness.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
But, unlike most glands, including the apocrine glands in human armpits, they are not connected to the secretions of the body that houses them, and so might be better described as pockets.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gland
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Noun
And the thymus gland, the producer of white blood cells, shrinks and weakens over time.
—Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Flow Space, 30 Sep. 2025
Their bellies are cream-white, their pectoral glands white and their vocal sacs black.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
No one knows why the processes of evolution recruited the lachrymal glands to convey this helplessness.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
But, unlike most glands, including the apocrine glands in human armpits, they are not connected to the secretions of the body that houses them, and so might be better described as pockets.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gland
Cite this Entry
“Gland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gland. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
gland
noun1
: a cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin that selectively removes materials from the blood, concentrates or alters them, and secretes them for further use in the body or for elimination from the body
2
: any of various animal structures (as a lymph node) suggestive of glands though not secretory in function
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