metformin

noun

met·​for·​min met-ˈfȯr-mən 

: a drug used in the form of its hydrochloride C₄H₁₁N₅·HCl especially to treat type 2 diabetes

Examples of metformin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Evidence of this mechanism stretches as far back as 1989, when French metabolic researcher Jean Girard and his colleagues published a paper describing how metformin increased the amount of glucose rats absorbed in their intestines. — Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026

Last year, Fejzo designed a study of the widely available drug metformin, which is already safely used on pregnant women with gestational diabetes and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

In a 2025 randomized trial of 100 overweight and obese women with PMOS and irregular menstrual cycles, adding semaglutide to metformin for 16 weeks restored their cycles in 73% of participants, compared with 42% on only metformin. — Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

In the last 11 years since her diagnosis, she’s been prescribed birth control and metformin. — Anissa Durham, STAT, 28 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

methyl + -formin (as in phenformin, an earlier antidiabetic drug)

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for metformin

• longshoreman
• longshoremen
• corpsman
• corpsmen
• foreman
• foremen
• mormon
• warman

Medical Definition

metformin

noun

met·​for·​min met-ˈfȯr-mən 

: an antidiabetic drug used in the form of its hydrochloride C₄H₁₁N₅·HCl especially to treat type 2 diabetes in patients unresponsive to or intolerant of approved sulfonylurea drugs

Note: Trademarks for preparations containing metformin include Glucophage, Glucovance, Invokamet, Janumet, Jentadueto, and Kombiglyze.