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glycogen

American  
[glahy-kuh-juhn, -jen] / ˈglaɪ kə dʒən, -ˌdʒɛn /

noun

Biochemistry.

  1. a white, tasteless polysaccharide, (C 6 H 10 O5 ) n , molecularly similar to starch, constituting the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals and occurring chiefly in the liver, in muscle, and in fungi and yeasts.

glycogen British  
/ -dʒɛn, ˈɡlaɪkəʊdʒən, ˌɡlaɪkəʊˈdʒɛnɪk /

noun

  1. Also called: animal starch.  a polysaccharide consisting of glucose units: the form in which carbohydrate is stored in the liver and muscles in man and animals. It can easily be hydrolysed to glucose

"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
glycogen Scientific  
/ glī′kə-jən /

  1. A polysaccharide stored in animal liver and muscle cells that is easily converted to glucose to meet metabolic energy requirements. Most of the carbohydrate energy stored in animal cells is in the form of glycogen.

Other Word Forms

  • glycogenic adjective

Etymology

Origin of glycogen

First recorded in 1855–60; glyco- + -gen

Compare meaning

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Vocabulary lists containing glycogen

Nutrition - High School

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Biochemistry

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Nutrition and Digestion - High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Among the 23 ALS/FTD patients studied, 70% had elevated levels of this harmful glycogen.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

Unlike carbohydrates, which are stored in muscle and liver as glycogen, and fats, which are stored in adipose tissue, we have nowhere to store excess protein/amino acids.

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024

Its energy storage includes fat, blood glucose, and glycogen, a form of glucose your body stores in your liver and muscles.

From Slate • Sep. 9, 2023

As these glycogen stores are used up, the body also releases a significant amount of water.

From Scientific American • Jul. 13, 2023

It stores sugar in the form of glycogen and releases it as glucose in carefully measured quantities to keep the blood sugar at a normal level.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.