excretion

¹ American  

[ik-skree-shuhn] / ɪkˈskri ʃən /

noun

1. the act of excreting.

2. the substance excreted, as urine or sweat, or certain plant products.

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excretion ² American  

[ik-skree-shuhn] / ɪkˈskri ʃən /

noun

1. the state of being excrescent.

2. an excrescence.

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excretion Scientific  

/ ĭk-skrē′shən /

1. The elimination by an organism of waste products that result from metabolic processes. In plants, waste is minimal and is eliminated primarily by diffusion to the outside environment. Animals have specific organs of excretion. In vertebrates, the kidney filters blood, conserving water and producing urea and other waste products in the form of urine. The urine is then passed through the ureters to the bladder and discharged through the urethra. The skin and lungs, which eliminate carbon dioxide, are also excretory organs.

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Etymology

Origin of excretion¹

1595–1605; < Late Latin excrētiōn- (stem of excrētiō ) that which is sifted out. See excrete, -ion

Origin of excretion²

1605–15; < Late Latin excrētiōn- (stem of excrētiō ), equivalent to Latin excrēt ( us ) (past participle of excrēscere; see ex- ¹, crescent) + iōn- -ion

Explanation

Excretion is the physical process of eliminating waste, especially in a living organism. If you think about it, excretion keeps plumbers in business. In a human, there are three organs that mostly take care of excretion, or ridding the body of substances it doesn't need: lungs, kidneys, and skin. All living things have some form of excretion — in people, some waste is excreted in the form of urine, while the excretion of plants results in carbon dioxide and water being released. Excretion comes from the French excrétion, with its Latin root excernere, "to discharge."

Example Sentences

In her 2024 Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital, author Samantha Harvey puts it more lyrically: "A robot has no need for hydration, nutrients, excretion, sleep… It wants and asks for nothing."

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2024

Scientists have widely studied how creatures across the animal kingdom eat and drink, but few have delved into the mysteries of fluid excretion.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2024

For more than three decades, thiazide diuretics, a common medication used for high blood pressure, have been the standard of care for kidney stone prevention because they reduce the excretion of urinary calcium.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

Recent studies confirm that it plays an important role in regulating blood glucose levels by decreasing the amount of glucose absorbed from the small intestine and increasing excretion from the kidneys.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2023

This plant, which the purist would doubtless consider a weed in any rosebed, releases an excretion from its roots that kills the soil nematodes.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson