secretion
Americannoun
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(in a cell or gland) the act or process of separating, elaborating, and releasing a substance that fulfills some function within the organism or undergoes excretion.
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the product of this act or process.
noun
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a substance that is released from a cell, esp a glandular cell, and is synthesized in the cell
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the process involved in producing and releasing such a substance from the cell
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The process of secreting a substance from a cell or gland.
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A substance, such as saliva, mucus, tears, bile, or a hormone, that is secreted.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsecretionnoun
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oversecretionnoun
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supersecretionnoun
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nonsecretionaryadjective
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secretionaryadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of secretion
1640–50; < Latin sēcrētiōn- (stem of sēcrētiō ), equivalent to sēcrēt ( us ) (past participle of sēcernere to secern ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A secretion is a substance made and released by a living thing, like when your skin sweats. Secretions don't have to do with secrets, but with secreting: synthesizing and then producing a substance. A machine can't make a secretion — only living things can. Many secretions are harmless, while others are dangerous to other animals. For example, the secretions of some frogs are a type of poison. Some secretions stay within an animal, like the bile secreted by our livers. Saliva is another secretion. The word comes from the Latin root secretionem, "separation."
Vocabulary lists containing secretion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At the same time, genes essential for normal liver function, including those involved in metabolism and protein secretion, were gradually shut down.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
Novo’s cautious C-suite was ready to target Type 2 diabetes—an obvious choice, as GLP-1 augments insulin secretion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
The EU has already defined dairy items as products coming from the "normal mammary secretion".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025
The paper, "SnoRNA-facilitated protein secretion revealed by transcriptome-wide snoRNA target identification," was published in November 2024 in the journal Cell.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2024
A good zoo is a place of carefully worked-out coincidence: exactly where an animal says to us, “Stay out!” with its urine or other secretion, we say to it, “Stay in!” with our barriers.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
It was a tale about organic matter, the sound and smell of silk, wool and cotton, their inevitable decay a result of skin secretions, chemicals, light and time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
The devastating viral infection, carried by wild birds, spreads primarily through respiratory secretions and bird-to-bird contact and can also be contracted by mammals that ingest birds or other products.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
But we do know infected birds can shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions and feces.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2024
It is unclear exactly how the cows became infected, but the most likely source is feces or other secretions from a wild bird infected with the virus.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
What is the chemical nature of these secretions?
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
