hormone

UK: /ˈhɔː^rməʊn/ US: /ˈhɔrmoʊn/ ,(hôr′mōn)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

hor•mone /ˈhɔrmoʊn/   n. [countable]

1. Biochemistry a chemical that the body releases that affects how certain organs or tissues grow or develop.
2. Drugs an artificially made substance that acts like a hormone.

hor•mo•nal /hɔrˈmoʊnəl/  adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hor•mone  (hôr′mōn), n. 

1. Biochemistry any of various internally secreted compounds, as insulin or thyroxine, formed in endocrine glands, that affect the functions of specifically receptive organs or tissues when transported to them by the body fluids.
2. Drugs [Pharm.] a synthetic substance used in medicine to act like such a compound when introduced into the body.
3. Botany Also called phytohormone. any of various plant compounds, as auxin or gibberellin, that control growth and differentiation of plant tissue.

• Greek hormôn (present participle of hormân to set in motion, excite, stimulate), equivalent. to horm(é̄ ) horme + -ōn present participle suffix, with ending assimilated to -one
• 1900–05;

hor•mo′nal, hor•mon•ic  (hôr mon′ik, -mō′nik), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hormone / ˈhɔːməʊn/ noun

1. a chemical substance produced in an endocrine gland and transported in the blood to a certain tissue, on which it exerts a specific effect
2. any synthetic substance having the same effects

Etymology: 20th Century: from Greek hormōn, from horman to stir up, urge on, from hormē impulse, assault

horˈmonal, hormonic adjective

horˈmonally adverb

ˈhormoneˌlike adjective