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

The Navigator is the brand’s power master; the Aviator is presented as the comfort, less testosterone-exuding, more plush option. —James Raia, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026

Colin Jost said on this weekend’s show, playing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in full testosterone-rage mode. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026

Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has received a 162-game suspension after testing positive for exogenous testosterone. —Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 4 Mar. 2026

Profar tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites, the commissioner's office said, which means testosterone that was not produced by his body. —CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026

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