1
: a product of living cells that circulates in body fluids (such as blood) or sap and produces a specific often stimulatory effect on the activity of cells usually remote from its point of origin
also
: a synthetic substance that acts like a hormone
2
Examples of hormone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mifepristone is a drug that blocks a hormone needed to continue pregnancy, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
—
Saleen Martin, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Each month when a woman can get pregnant, there’s a group of eggs that can respond to hormones, says Roth; the brain only sends enough hormones to the ovary for one egg to develop and ovulate and the remaining eggs go unused.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Aug. 2025
Adding an essential amino acid that boosts serotonin: Peanut butter contains tryptophan, an amino acid in the body that can convert into serotonin and then melatonin, both of which are hormones associated with sleep.
—Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 13 Aug. 2025
Cortisol is a hormone that plays several important roles in the body, but chronically high levels can negatively affect your health.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hormone
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Saleen Martin, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Each month when a woman can get pregnant, there’s a group of eggs that can respond to hormones, says Roth; the brain only sends enough hormones to the ovary for one egg to develop and ovulate and the remaining eggs go unused.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Aug. 2025
Adding an essential amino acid that boosts serotonin: Peanut butter contains tryptophan, an amino acid in the body that can convert into serotonin and then melatonin, both of which are hormones associated with sleep.
—Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 13 Aug. 2025
Cortisol is a hormone that plays several important roles in the body, but chronically high levels can negatively affect your health.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hormone
Cite this Entry
“Hormone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hormone. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hormone
noun
hor·mone
ˈhȯr-ˌmōn 
: a product of living cells that circulates in body fluids (as blood) or sap and produces a specific and often stimulating effect on cells usually at a distance from the place where it is made
Medical Definition
hormone
noun
hor·mone
ˈhȯr-ˌmōn
1
a
: a product of living cells that circulates in body fluids (as blood) or sap and produces a specific often stimulatory effect on the activity of cells usually a distance from its point of synthesis
Some people develop insulin resistance, a condition in which response to the hormone is muted and the body must produce excess insulin to maintain healthy blood-glucose concentrations.—Ben Harder, Science News
Ben Harder, Science News
b
: a synthetic substance that acts like a hormone
2
: sex hormone
I discovered I had the classic signs of perimenopause, the prelude to "the change" when hormones yo-yo before menstrual periods cease altogether …—Beth Witrogen McLeod, Cooking Light
Beth Witrogen McLeod, Cooking LightLove words? Need even more definitions?
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