oxytocin

[ ok-si-toh-suhn ]

/ ˌɒk sɪˈtoʊ sən /

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noun

Biochemistry. a polypeptide hormone, produced by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, that stimulates contraction of the smooth muscle of the uterus.

Pharmacology. a commercial form of this substance, obtained from beef and hog pituitary glands or especially by synthesis, and used chiefly in obstetrics to induce labor and to control postnatal hemorrhage.

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Origin of oxytocin

First recorded in 1925–30; oxytoc(ic) + -in²

Words nearby oxytocin

oxysulfide, oxysulphide, oxytetracycline, oxytocia, oxytocic, oxytocin, oxytone, oxyuriasis, oy, Oyama, Oyashio Current

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oxytocin in a sentence

People who sniff oxytocin before they play together are more in sync rhythmically.
We’re More of Ourselves When We’re in Tune with Others - Issue 104: Harmony|Kevin Berger|July 21, 2021|Nautilus
When you’re moved by music, we see levels of the attachment-hormone oxytocin increase.
We’re More of Ourselves When We’re in Tune with Others - Issue 104: Harmony|Kevin Berger|July 21, 2021|Nautilus
The two pregnancy-related hormones, prolactin and oxytocin, are responsible for milk production.
The Cancer Custodians - Issue 102: Hidden Truths|Lina Zeldovich|June 23, 2021|Nautilus
Prolactin induces the luminal cells to make milk while oxytocin makes the myoepithelial cells contract.
The Cancer Custodians - Issue 102: Hidden Truths|Lina Zeldovich|June 23, 2021|Nautilus

When you lock eyes with a dog or when you touch a dog, there are studies looking at the fact that your oxytocin levels go up.
Forget Everything You Know About Your Dog (Ep. 436)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 22, 2020|Freakonomics
When fathers hold and play with their children, oxytocin and prolactin kick in, priming them for bonding.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Such effects can be traced, at least in part, to the way neglect affects signaling neurochemicals, like the hormone oxytocin.
Free Birth Control: Could It Transform Society?|Brian Alexander, Larry Young|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I think the most surprising thing to me was the oxytocin story.
Just the Fact: Sex and Music|Daniel J. Levitin|August 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
And the people with higher levels of oxytocin were more generous in the amounts they chose to return to the original investor.
How Empathy Can Save the Economy|Maia Szalavitz|May 28, 2009|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for oxytocin

oxytocin

/ (ˌɒksɪˈtəʊsɪn) /

noun

a polypeptide hormone, secreted by the pituitary gland, that stimulates contractions of the uterus or oviduct and ejection of milk in mammals; alphahypophame: used therapeutically for aiding childbirth. Formula: C 43 H 68 N 12 O 12 S 2Compare vasopressin

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

Scientific definitions for oxytocin

oxytocin

[ ŏk′sĭ-tō′sĭn ]

A polypeptide hormone secreted by the posterior portion of the pituitary gland. Oxytocin stimulates the contraction of smooth muscle of the uterus during childbirth and facilitates ejection of milk from the mammary glands.