endocrine
Americanadjective
-
secreting internally into the blood or lymph.
-
of or relating to an endocrine gland or its secretion.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of endocrine
1910–15; endo- + -crine < Greek krī́nein to separate
Explanation
The adjective endocrine describes the glands in your body that secrete hormones into your blood. The hormones released by your endocrine glands have an effect on almost every function of your body. Endocrine can refer to the glands in your body — called endocrine glands — and it also can describe the larger system that includes your glands and your hormones, called the endocrine system. The endocrine system is responsible for lots of functions, including regulating growth, metabolism, and even your mood. So the next time you’re in a really good mood, thank your endocrine secretions.
Vocabulary lists containing endocrine
Life Science: Human Systems
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STAAR Biology: Biological Processes and Systems
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Life Science II
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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:
“It led me down a path of learning a lot about microplastics and endocrine disrupters and how bad they are for your health,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
He said more research needs to be done to identify the cause of declining sperm counts, but research on animals has shown that certain chemicals disrupt the endocrine system.
From Salon ● May 15, 2026
Scientists are increasingly recognizing that adipose tissue acts as a complex endocrine organ that communicates with the brain, liver, muscles, and immune system through hormones and signaling molecules.
From Science Daily ● May 8, 2026
Afterward, the surgeons had assured both mother and daughter that medication would regulate the damage that had already rippled through Miranda’s endocrine system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Those chemicals have been proven to cause cancer, damage nerve cells, and disrupt your endocrine system—your hormones.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Your real job here at Stanford is to learn to run your glands with their various endocrines.
From Time Magazine Archive
During the ensuing years, while other endocrines yielded up their secrets to the "hormone hunters," study of the male hormone languished.
From Time Magazine Archive
That brings Surgeon Geoffrey into the house pretty often and he in turn brings Gita's endocrines into their own.
From Time Magazine Archive
The mood is serious; the movement sober, without the bravura leaps and dashes with which American dancers assault the eyes and the endocrines.
From Time Magazine Archive
The endocrines control the transport, and course, combinations and permutations in the history of lime's progress among the cells, and are in turn themselves affected by it.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.
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.
