urine
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the liquid waste that your body makes and stores in your bladder.
n.a liquid byproduct of metabolism in humans and many animals, consisting of water, salts, and urea.
Simple“The doctor asked for a urine sample to check for any signs of infection.”
In context“Clinical analysis of the patient's urine revealed elevated levels of glucose, suggesting a potential metabolic disorder.”
UsageUncountable in general usage; countable only in laboratory contexts referring to specific samples.
Teacher's tipThis is the formal and medical term. In everyday conversation, 'pee' is common but informal, while 'piss' is vulgar.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.an old word for passing liquid waste from the body.
v.to discharge urine from the body.
Simple“In the old story, the traveler stopped by the road to urine.”
In context“The historical text describes the patient's inability to urine without significant pain, a symptom the physician noted with concern.”
UsageIntransitive; modern English uses 'urinate' or 'pass urine' instead.
“Somewhere in Edinburgh, a man is drinking his own urine .”
From Middle English uryne, from Latin ūrīna (“urine”), from Proto-Indo-European uh₁r-, zero grade of woh₁-r̥ (“water, liquid, milk”). Related to *h₁ówHdʰr̥ (“udder”) (see udder). Cognate with Old English ūriġ (“wet, moist”). Displaced native English land (“urine”) (from Middle English land, from Old English hland (“urine”)), though lant survives with a specialized sense.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.