chitin
a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide, related chemically to cellulose, that forms a semitransparent horny substance and is a principal constituent of the exoskeleton, or outer covering, of insects, crustaceans, and arachnids.
Origin of chitin
1Other words from chitin
- chi·tin·ous, chi·tin·oid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chitin in a sentence
The process also would work for the chitin in insect shells.
Analyze This: Insect shells could help builders on Mars | Carolyn Wilke | November 4, 2020 | Science News For StudentsAfter a chemical treatment that makes it easier to use, chitin becomes “chitosan.”
Analyze This: Insect shells could help builders on Mars | Carolyn Wilke | November 4, 2020 | Science News For StudentsThere is a thick chitinous membrane at the base of the sponge.
Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa | Nelson AnnandaleCorresponding changes have taken place in the head and in the chitinous and muscular structure.
Parallel Paths | Thomas William RollestonThere are also on the last segment a double and two single black chitinous plates.
Studies in the Theory of Descent (Volumes 1 and 2) | August Weismann
These are a pair of chitinous rods which lie ventral to the notochord and in the collar region unite to form a single mass.
The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. ReynoldsThe fine chitinous tubule is especially conspicuous in connection with these largest goblets.
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell
British Dictionary definitions for chitin
/ (ˈkaɪtɪn) /
a polysaccharide that is the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and of the bodies of fungi
Origin of chitin
1Derived forms of chitin
- chitinous, adjective
- chitinoid, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for chitin
[ kīt′n ]
A tough, semitransparent substance that is the main component of the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as the shells of crustaceans and the outer coverings of insects. Chitin is also found in the cell walls of certain fungi and algae. Chemically, it is a nitrogenous polysaccharide (a carbohydrate).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse