TESTICLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does testicle mean? 

• TESTICLE (noun)
  The noun TESTICLE has 1 sense:

1. one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens

  Familiarity information: TESTICLE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TESTICLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

ball; ballock; bollock; egg; nut; orchis; testicle; testis

Context example:

she kicked him in the balls and got away

Hypernyms ("testicle" is a kind of...):

gonad; sex gland (a gland in which gametes (sex cells) are produced)

male reproductive gland (the reproductive organs of a man)

Meronyms (parts of "testicle"):

arteria testicularis; internal spermatic artery; testicular artery (a branch of the aorta supplying the testicles)

testicular vein; vena testicularis (a vein from the testicles)

seminiferous tubule (any of the numerous long convoluted tubules in the testis which are the sites where spermatozoa mature)

epididymis (a convoluted tubule in each testis; carries sperm to vas deferens)

rete testis (network of tubules carrying sperm from the seminiferous tubules to the vasa efferentia)

ductus deferens; vas deferens (a duct that carries spermatozoa from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct)

spermatic cord (a structure resembling a cord that suspends the testis within the scrotum and contains the vas deferens and other vessels and nerves)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "testicle"):

cobblers (a man's testicles (from Cockney rhyming slang: cobbler's awl rhymes with ball))

undescended testicle; undescended testis (a testis that fails to move into the scrotum as the male fetus develops)

Holonyms ("testicle" is a part of...):

male reproductive system (the reproductive system of males)

family jewels; male genital organ; male genitalia; male genitals (external male sex organs)

Derivation:

testicular (of or involving the testes)

 Context examples 

Goserelin is used to block hormone production in the ovaries or testicles.

(Goserelin, NCI Dictionary)

If untreated, it can cause problems with the prostate and testicles.

(Gonorrhea, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

In men, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists cause the testicles to stop making testosterone.

(Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, NCI Dictionary)

In men, this causes the testicles to stop making testosterone.

(GnRH antagonist, NCI Dictionary)

This causes the testicles to stop making testosterone (a male hormone) in men, and the ovaries to stop making estradiol (a form of the hormone estrogen) in women.

(Goserelin acetate, NCI Dictionary)

In rare cases, it has also been found in the testicle.

(Granulosa cell tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

Surgical removal of one or both testicles.

(Orchiectomy, NCI Thesaurus)

Surgery to remove one or both testicles.

(Orchidectomy, NCI Dictionary)

Although nonseminomas occur most often in the testicles or ovaries, they can occur in other tissues, such as the brain, chest, or abdomen.

(Nonseminoma, NCI Dictionary)

The administration of a drug within the testicle.

(Intratesticular Route of Administration, NCI Thesaurus)