tox·in

[tok-sin]
noun
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:
1885–90; tox(ic) + -in2

toxic, toxin.


See poison.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To toxin
Collins
World English Dictionary
toxin (ˈtɒksɪn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  endotoxin See also exotoxin any of various poisonous substances produced by microorganisms that stimulate the production of neutralizing substances (antitoxins) in the body
2.  any other poisonous substance of plant or animal origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Toxin is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

toxin
"organic poison," 1886, from L. toxicum "poison" (see toxic).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

toxin tox·in (tŏk'sĭn)
n.
A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms and is capable of causing disease when introduced into the body tissues but is often also capable of inducing neutralizing antibodies or antitoxins.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
toxin   (tŏk'sĭn)  Pronunciation Key 
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
But car alarms are the special toxin eating into his hide.
Eating red meat could make your body more vulnerable to a dangerous bacterial
  toxin, according to a new study.
They found that cell growth slowed shortly after exposure to the toxin.
The structure of the modified cholesterol resembles a toxin from a tropical
  cycad.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT