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Toxins Are Often Found in Nature
Long before chemists started creating poisons from scratch, humans were employing natural toxins for killing weeds and insects. For centuries South American tribes have used the toxin curare, extracted from a native vine, to tip their arrows. The garden flower called wolfsbane or monkshood is the source of aconite, an extremely potent toxin. The common flower known as jimsonweed contains the deadly poison scopolamine. And the castor-oil plant yields the almost unbelievably poisonous toxin called ricin. Today we hear health advisers of all kinds talk about ridding the body of toxins; but they're usually pretty vague about which ones they mean, and most of these "toxins" wouldn't be called that by biologists.
Examples of toxin in a Sentence
Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Feb. 2025
During the confirmation hearings, many senators expressed interest in efforts to address toxins and chronic health issues.
—Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 13 Feb. 2025
Clostridium botulinum can produce a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and can lead to botulism, an illness that causes breathing complications, muscle paralysis, and death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 11 Feb. 2025
Botox is derived from botulinum toxin type A, a toxin that’s produced from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near toxin
Cite this Entry
“Toxin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxin. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
derived from Latin tox- "poisonous" and English -in "chemical compound"; tox- from toxicum "poison," from Greek toxikon "arrow poison," from toxon "bow, arrow" — related to intoxicate, toxic see Word History at intoxicate
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