progestin

noun

pro·​ges·​tin prō-ˈje-stən 

: progestogen

especially : a synthetic progesterone (such as levonorgestrel)

Examples of progestin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Free the Pill wanted the first over-the-counter oral contraceptive to be progestin only, a formulation sometimes called the mini pill. —Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2024

The combination pill is made up of estrogen and progestin, whereas the progestin-only pill only contains progestin, per Healthline. —Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2024

Most birth-control pills prescribed in the U.S. are a combination of two hormones, estrogen and progestin. —Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2024

Hormonal IUDs release progestin to thicken cervical mucus, prevent ovulation, and thin the uterine lining. —Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

progest(ational) + -in entry 1, originally as a name for progesterone

Note: The name was introduced by the American gynecologist and biochemist Willard M. Allen (1904-93) in "Physiology of the Corpus Luteum V. The Preparation and Some Chemical Properties of Progestin, a Hormone of the Corpus Luteum which Produces Progestational Proliferation," Amerian Journal of Physiology, vol. 92, issue 1 (February, 1930), pp. 174-88.

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

progestin

noun

pro·​ges·​tin prō-ˈjest-ən 

: progesterone

especially : a synthetic progesterone (as levonorgestrel)