secretion

Everyday

1. A liquid that a living thing makes and lets out, such as saliva, sweat, tears, mucus or sap. tree →
2. The process of making and releasing such a liquid. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about the body and animals, secretions do jobs: saliva starts digestion, sweat cools us, tears clean eyes, snail slime helps it move, spiders secrete silk. It tells the reader something is produced by glands. Phrases: the secretion of saliva, sticky secretions.

Examples

• Saliva is a secretion from glands in your mouth. tree →
• Sweat is a secretion that helps cool your body. tree →
• The snail left a trail of sticky secretion. tree →
• Some frogs have poisonous skin secretions. tree →
• Bees make wax from a secretion of their bodies. tree →
• The secretion of tears keeps your eyes clean. tree →

Note

Countable for the liquid (secretions), uncountable for the process. Verb: secrete (to produce a liquid). Trap: "secrete" also can mean "hide", and "secretion" sounds like "secret" but has nothing to do with secrets here.