toxin

[ tok-sin ]
See synonyms for: toxintoxins on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any poison produced by an organism, characterized by antigenicity in certain animals and high molecular weight, and including the bacterial toxins that are the causative agents of tetanus, diphtheria, etc., and such plant and animal toxins as ricin and snake venom.

Origin of toxin

1
First recorded in 1885–90; tox(ic) + -in2

synonym study For toxin

See poison.

Words that may be confused with toxin

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use toxin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for toxin

toxin

/ (ˈtɒksɪn) /


noun
  1. any of various poisonous substances produced by microorganisms that stimulate the production of neutralizing substances (antitoxins) in the body: See also endotoxin, exotoxin

  2. any other poisonous substance of plant or animal origin

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 toxin

toxin

[ tŏksĭn ]


  1. 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. Compare antitoxin.

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