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

Bananas Bananas support testosterone production by providing minerals and vitamins crucial to healthy hormonal function. —Md Published, Verywell Health, 27 Oct. 2025

Finasteride, prescribed for hair loss or enlarged prostate, and bicalutamide, used in prostate cancer treatment, can shift testosterone’s effects and allow breast tissue to grow. —Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025

The Biden Administration's contrary position depended on the obvious fallacy that providing testosterone to treat a boy's endocrine disorder is the 'same treatment' as using the drug to disrupt the normal physical development of an adolescent girl suffering from psychological distress. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

On your clit Famously, testosterone can make your clit bigger. —Quispe López, Them., 24 Oct. 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