excretion

noun

ex·​cre·​tion ik-ˈskrē-shən 

1

: the act or process of excreting

2

: something excreted

especially : metabolic waste products (such as urea and carbon dioxide) that are eliminated from the body

Examples of excretion in a Sentence

The kidneys are organs of excretion.

Recent Examples on the Web

If both parties orgasmed, all the better as this would help in the excretion of harmful superfluities. —The Week Uk, TheWeek, 23 Apr. 2026

Higher potassium intake leads to greater sodium excretion, which helps lower blood pressure. —Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 15 Apr. 2026

By binding to particles in the gut and promoting their excretion through the stool. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2026

The body produces urobilin during hemoglobin breakdown and releases it through excretion. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for excretion

• accretion
• completion
• concretion
• deletion
• depletion
• repletion
• secretion
• carburetion
• grecian
• hypersecretion

Kids Definition

excretion

noun

ex·​cre·​tion ik-ˈskrē-shən 

1

: the act or process of excreting

the skin and lungs function in excretion

2

: cellular waste (as carbon dioxide and urea) excreted from the body

Medical Definition

excretion

noun

ex·​cre·​tion ik-ˈskrē-shən 

1

: the act or process of excreting

2

a

: something eliminated by the process of excretion that is composed chiefly of urine or sweat in mammals including humans and of comparable materials in other animals, characteristically includes products of protein degradation (as urea or uric acid), usually differs from ordinary bodily secretions by lacking any further utility to the organism that produces it, and is distinguished from waste materials (as feces) that have merely passed into or through the digestive tract without being incorporated into the body proper

b

: a waste product (as urine, feces, or vomit) eliminated from an animal body : excrement

—not used technically