thyroid
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A large butterfly-shaped endocrine gland situated on the front of the neck that produces various hormones.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
thyroydSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθaɪɹɔɪd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
medicine
An extract prepared from the thyroid gland of animals and used in treating deficiency of thyroid hormones.
anatomy
A large butterfly-shaped endocrine gland situated on the front of the neck that produces various hormones.
adjective
anatomy
Of or relating to the thyroid gland
Suggestive of a thyroid disorder
Suggestive of a disordered thyroid gland.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An extract prepared from the thyroid gland of animals and used in treating deficiency of thyroid hormones.
Used this way, thyroid is a specialist word with a clearly unfavourable pull. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- thyroid gland , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use thyroid
- “The doctor checked her thyroid during the annual physical examination.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Any of several closely related compounds that are produced by the thyroid gland and are active metabolically.
Anterior pituitary hormone that stimulates the function of the thyroid gland.
Located near the base of the neck.
The largest cartilage of the larynx.
Any of several small veins draining blood from the thyroid area.
Any of several veins on each side that drain the thyroid gland and empty into the innominate vein.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Any of several small veins draining blood from the thyroid area.
Any one of four endocrine glands situated above or within the thyroid gland.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
noun
Sense: extract prepared from the thyroid gland of animals and used in treating deficiency of thyroid hormones
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