testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstä-stə-ˌrōn 

1

: a hormone that is a hydroxy steroid ketone C₁₉H₂₈O₂ produced especially by the testes or made synthetically and that is responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characters

2

: qualities (such as brawn and aggressiveness) usually associated with males : manliness

Examples of testosterone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just months before their wedding, the poster found testosterone in their apartment. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025

Low levels are linked to heart disease, cancer, autoimmune conditions, high blood pressure, depression, low testosterone, poor immune resilience and early aging, according to the doctor. —Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 8 Dec. 2025

Hormonal shifts, including declines in growth hormone and testosterone, also play a role. —Dana Santas, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025

One major emphasis is to develop broad, testosterone-laden tentpoles like a Call of Duty movie that Taylor Sheridan is writing and a $100 million-plus motorcross film directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet, who would earn a career-high $25 million. —Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Testosteron, from Latin testēs testes + German -o- -o- + -steron -sterone

Note: The name was introduced by the Hungarian pharmacologists Karoly Gyula David (1905-45) and János Freud (1901-48), the Dutch endocrinologist Elisabeth Dingemanse (1886-1952), and the German-born Dutch physician and pharmacologist Ernst Laqueur (1880-1947) (all affiliated with the Pharmaco-Therapeutic Laboratory of the University of Amsterdam) in "Über krystallinisches männliches Hormon aus Hoden (Testosteron), wirksamer als aus Harn oder aus Cholesterin bereitetes Androsteron," Zeitschrift für physiologische Chemie, Band 233 (1935), pp. 281-83.

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for testosterone

• aldosterone
• anticyclone
• progesterone
• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone

Kids Definition

testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstäs-tə-ˌrōn 

: a male hormone produced by the testes that causes the development of the male reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics

Medical Definition

testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstäs-tə-ˌrōn 

: a male hormone that is a crystalline hydroxy steroid ketone C₁₉H₂₈O₂ produced primarily by the testes or made synthetically and that is the main androgen responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characteristics see androgel, axiron