oestrogen Definition

any of various natural steroids (as estradiol) that are formed from androgen precursors, that are secreted chiefly by the ovaries, placenta, adipose tissue, and testes, and that stimulate the development of female secondary sex characteristics and promote the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system; also : any of various synthetic or semisynthetic steroids (as ethinyl estradiol) that mimic the physiological effect of natural estrogens

a chemical compound (as genistein) that occurs naturally in plants and has estrogenic properties

a precursor of an estrogen that must undergo metabolism before becoming an active hormone