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chromatin

American

[kroh-muh-tin] / ˈkroʊ mə tɪn /

noun

Cell Biology.

the readily stainable substance of a cell nucleus, consisting of DNA, RNA, and various proteins, that forms chromosomes during cell division.

chromatin British

/ ˈkrəʊmətɪn /

noun

cytology the part of the nucleus that consists of DNA and proteins, forms the chromosomes, and stains with basic dyes See also euchromatin heterochromatin

"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

chromatin Scientific

/ krō′mə-tĭn /

The substance distributed in the nucleus of a cell that condenses to form chromosomes during cell division. It consists mainly of DNA and proteins called histones.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of chromatin

First recorded in 1880–85; chromat- + -in ²

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Vocabulary lists containing chromatin

Cell Biology - Middle School

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Cell Biology - High School

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Genetics - 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.

See Examples For:

chromatin

Smaller structures known as chromatin loops, however, told a different story.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The paper, "Dose-dependent sensitivity of human three-dimensional chromatin to a heart disease-linked transcription factor," was published in the journal Science on July 23, 2026.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

TBX5 helps direct cohesin to the correct locations on DNA, where it creates chromatin loops that bring genes together with their enhancers.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

"Surprisingly, we discovered this collapse happens at every level of genome organization -- compartments, domains, and chromatin loops."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

No one knew or understood the chemical structure of chromatin, but of the two “intimately mixed” components, proteins were vastly more familiar to biologists, vastly more versatile, and vastly more likely to be gene carriers.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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