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
As those hormones become erratic and then decline in perimenopause and menopause, cortisol can play a bigger role in daily symptoms, influencing sleep, mood, belly fat, anxiety, energy, and recovery.
—
Rita Templeton, Flow Space, 18 Feb. 2026
In 2009, after studying a mother and a daughter who were both short sleepers, Fu published a paper about a variation in a gene called DEC2, which influences the production of orexin, a hormone associated with wakefulness.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
The standard measure for how much this hormone realistically varies from test to test is about 50%.
—Samantha Bonsack, STAT, 18 Feb. 2026
Changes in Mood or Thinking Your brain and gut are connected in what’s called the gut-brain axis, a system where nerves, hormones, and immune signals send messages to and from the digestive system and brain.
—Rena Goldman, Health, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hormone
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Rita Templeton, Flow Space, 18 Feb. 2026
In 2009, after studying a mother and a daughter who were both short sleepers, Fu published a paper about a variation in a gene called DEC2, which influences the production of orexin, a hormone associated with wakefulness.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
The standard measure for how much this hormone realistically varies from test to test is about 50%.
—Samantha Bonsack, STAT, 18 Feb. 2026
Changes in Mood or Thinking Your brain and gut are connected in what’s called the gut-brain axis, a system where nerves, hormones, and immune signals send messages to and from the digestive system and brain.
—Rena Goldman, Health, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hormone
Cite this Entry
“Hormone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hormone. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
