excretion
noun
ex·cre·tion
ik-ˈskrē-shən 
Examples of excretion in a Sentence
The kidneys are organs of excretion.
Recent Examples on the Web
When horses have become infected with Hendra from bat excretions, the virus has a fatality rate of 80%.
—
Ari Daniel, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
Several factors can interfere with the excretion process.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The cicada’s waste excretion method is so powerful that these noisy insects take the crown for producing the strongest stream of pee relative to their size of any animal that scientists studied.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Conservation is also aided by the excretions of sphagnum moss, which extracts calcium from bones and halts bacterial growth.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
These findings hint that the swabs were picking up raccoon dog nasal excretions, which may have been more likely in animals sick with a respiratory virus, like SARS-CoV-2.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2023
And iron deficiency is linked to upregulation of genes that code for metal transporters in the body, which may explain why researchers have noted high levels of cadmium excretion in women with low iron stores.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 1 Nov. 2023
Adequate water intake supports kidney function, allowing for the efficient excretion of waste products, including delta-8 THC metabolites.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 8 Aug. 2023
Mi’s team is the first to create silkworms whose excretions are ostensibly identical to spiders’ web material.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 Sep. 2023
Ari Daniel, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
Several factors can interfere with the excretion process.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The cicada’s waste excretion method is so powerful that these noisy insects take the crown for producing the strongest stream of pee relative to their size of any animal that scientists studied.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Conservation is also aided by the excretions of sphagnum moss, which extracts calcium from bones and halts bacterial growth.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
These findings hint that the swabs were picking up raccoon dog nasal excretions, which may have been more likely in animals sick with a respiratory virus, like SARS-CoV-2.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2023
And iron deficiency is linked to upregulation of genes that code for metal transporters in the body, which may explain why researchers have noted high levels of cadmium excretion in women with low iron stores.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 1 Nov. 2023
Adequate water intake supports kidney function, allowing for the efficient excretion of waste products, including delta-8 THC metabolites.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 8 Aug. 2023
Mi’s team is the first to create silkworms whose excretions are ostensibly identical to spiders’ web material.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excretion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near excretion
Cite this Entry
“Excretion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excretion. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
excretion
noun
ex·cre·tion
ik-ˈskrē-shən
1
: the act or process of excreting
the skin and lungs function in excretion
2
: cellular waste (as carbon dioxide and urea) excreted from the body
Medical Definition
excretion
noun
ex·cre·tion
ik-ˈskrē-shən
1
: the act or process of excreting
2
a
: something eliminated by the process of excretion that is composed chiefly of urine or sweat in mammals including humans and of comparable materials in other animals, characteristically includes products of protein degradation (as urea or uric acid), usually differs from ordinary bodily secretions by lacking any further utility to the organism that produces it, and is distinguished from waste materials (as feces) that have merely passed into or through the digestive tract without being incorporated into the body proper
b
: a waste product (as urine, feces, or vomit) eliminated from an animal body : excrement
—not used technically
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