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testosterone

noun

tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstä-stə-ˌrōn How to pronounce testosterone (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By mining data from the Australian Women’s Midlife Years Study, which has enrolled over 5,000 women, Davis found that women’s testosterone levels gradually decline around age 40, reaching a low point in their late 50s before increasing slightly again. —Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 25 Dec. 2025 Broccoli promotes a healthy balance of testosterone and estrogen. —Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 19 Dec. 2025 Includes codeine, ketamine, steroids, testosterone and others. —Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 19 Dec. 2025 This includes ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone and products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit, like Tylenol with codeine. —Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 18 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for testosterone

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of testosterone was in 1935

Rhymes for testosterone

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Browse Nearby Words

testone
testosterone
test pattern
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Cite this Entry

“Testosterone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/testosterone. Accessed 2 Jan. 2026.

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Kids Definition

testosterone

noun
tes·​tos·​ter·​one te-ˈstäs-tə-ˌrōn How to pronounce testosterone (audio)
: 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 How to pronounce testosterone (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on testosterone

Nglish: Translation of testosterone for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about testosterone

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