type 2 diabetes

noun

ˈtīp-ˈtü- 

: a common form of diabetes mellitus that develops especially in adults and most often in obese individuals and that is characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from impaired insulin utilization coupled with the body's inability to compensate with increased insulin production

called also non-insulin-dependent diabetes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes mellitus

Examples of type 2 diabetes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a cohort study of 606,434 US veterans with type 2 diabetes published in BMJ in March 2026, starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist rather than an SGLT-2 inhibitor was associated with a 14% lower overall risk of developing a substance use disorder. — Jesse M. Pines, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Rather than existing in isolation, conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease often develop together, with each making the others more likely and more severe. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

These were coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, systolic blood pressure, which is the upper number in a blood-pressure reading, and type 2 diabetes. — The Conversation Us, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2026

Now, GLP-1s—originally created to help manage blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes—have become a fixture of millions of Americans’ lives. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

type 2 diabetes

noun

-ˈtü- 

: diabetes mellitus of a common form that develops especially in adults and most often in obese individuals and that is characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from impaired insulin utilization coupled with the body's inability to compensate with increased insulin production

called also adult-onset diabetes, late-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes mellitus