Standard Lemma guide

thyroxine

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /θaɪˈrɒk.siːn/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-sɪn/
  • General-American: /θaɪˈrɒk.sin/
  • General-American: /-sɪn/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒksiːn
  • rhymes with -ɒksɪn

1

noun

Meaning 1

A thyroid hormone, with the chemical formula C15H11I4NO4, that regulates cell metabolism and growth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, microbiology, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tetraiodothyronine

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

hormone produced by the thyroid glands to regulate metabolism by controlling the rate of oxidation in cells

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • thyroxine is 65% iodine

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: thyroxin, tetraiodothyronine, T

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: thyroid hormone

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dhwer-der. Proto-Hellenic *thurā Ancient Greek θῠ́ρᾱ (thŭ́rā) Ancient Greek -εος (-eos) Ancient Greek θῠρεός (thŭreós) Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *wéydos Proto-Hellenic *wéidos Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek -ειδής (-eidḗs) Ancient Greek θῠρεοειδής (thŭreoeidḗs)bor. New Latin thyreoīdēsbor. English thyroid English thyr- English ox- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ine English thyroxine From thyr- (“thyroid”) + ox- (“oxygen”) + -ine.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 甲狀腺素 /甲状腺素 (jiǎzhuàngxiànsù) — thyroid hormone
  • Finnish: tyroksiini — thyroid hormone
  • French: thyroxine — thyroid hormone
  • Italian: tiroxina — thyroid hormone
  • Māori: taiaki tenga — thyroid hormone
  • Portuguese: tiroxina — thyroid hormone
  • Spanish: tiroxina — thyroid hormone
  • Swedish: tyroxin — thyroid hormone
  • Turkish: tiroksin — thyroid hormone