juvenile hormone

American

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a class of insect and plant hormones acting to inhibit the molting of a juvenile insect into its adult form.

juvenile hormone British

noun

a hormone, secreted by insects from a pair of glands behind the brain, that promotes the growth of larval characteristics and inhibits metamorphosis

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of juvenile hormone

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

Without Jhe to break it down, more juvenile hormone was reaching the brains of these ants, and “soldier behavior was reprogrammed to forager behavior,” Ju says.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 14, 2023

In ants, previous research has shown that higher levels of juvenile hormone promote foraging behavior.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 14, 2023

The discovery of the juvenile hormone was particularly unexpected.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 29, 2016

California's Georghiou has found, in laboratory tests, that after 15 generations both houseflies and mosquitoes develop resistance to juvenile hormone insecticides.

From Time Magazine Archive

A substance in the wood pulp used to make U.S. newsprint acts much like the juvenile hormone that young bugs secrete.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023