toxin
Americannoun
noun
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A poisonous substance, especially one produced by a living organism. Toxins can be products or byproducts of ordinary metabolism, such as lactic acid, and they must be broken down or excreted before building up to dangerous levels. Toxins can facilitate survival, as with snake venom that kills or immobilizes prey, or cyanide produced by some plants as a defense against being eaten. Bacterial toxins can sometimes be neutralized with antitoxins.
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Compare antitoxin
Related Words
See poison.
Etymology
Origin of toxin
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.
The firestorm ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing 31, destroying more than 16,000 structures and contaminating others with toxins and heavy metals.
From Los Angeles Times
Policyholders shared complaints lodged against State Farm over denials to pay for the cleanup of fire toxins, rebuild estimates well below actual construction costs and delayed checks for living expenses.
From Los Angeles Times
It found that DNA mutations of a toxin called colibactin, which is caused by the common bacteria E.Coli, were much more common in younger people with colorectal cancer than in older patients.
From Barron's
Experts have said the toxin can also be produced synthetically, instead of extracting it directly from the frog itself.
From Barron's
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed using a deadly toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America, the UK and some of its European allies have said.
From BBC
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.
