collagen

[ kol-uh-juhn ]

/ ˈkɒl ə dʒən /

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noun Biochemistry.

any of a class of extracellular proteins abundant in higher animals, especially in the skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, and teeth, forming strong insoluble fibers and serving as connective tissue between cells, yielding gelatin when denatured by boiling.

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Origin of collagen

1860–65; <Greek kólla glue + -gen

OTHER WORDS FROM collagen

col·lag·e·nous

[kuh-laj-uh-nuhs], /kəˈlædʒ ə nəs/, adjective

Words nearby collagen

collaboration, collaborationist, collaborative, collaborator, collage, collagen, collagen disease, collagen injection, collapsar, collapse, collapse of communism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use collagen in a sentence

Fudge and Kruppa agree that it’s also worth considering supplemental protein, amino acids, and collagen.
How to Eat When You’re Injured|Becky Wade|February 17, 2021|Outside Online
There is also collagen powder derived from fish or cowhide, which can increase skin, joint, bone, and gut health.
Best protein powder: Better nutrition in a bottle|Carsen Joenk|January 11, 2021|Popular-Science
When you bite into a piece of meat you encounter fats, connective tissue like collagen, that juice dripping down your chin … it’s all part of the sensory experience.
Your first lab-grown burger is coming soon—and it’ll be “blended”|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Stones presumably used a long time ago to break fresh mastodon bones should have picked up residue containing at least some collagen.
Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived|Bruce Bower|December 4, 2020|Science News

The newly analyzed bone residue also does not include collagen.
Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived|Bruce Bower|December 4, 2020|Science News
At one point, I was encased in a jelly-green-tea collagen mask, which was awesome.
I Got a $180 Bird-Poop Facial|Kelsey Meany|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Because “human-engineered collagen” is clearly the path to a better sex life.
Yes, There Is a G-Spot|Rachel Kramer Bussel|January 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST
As goatskins are so tight fibred, a longer liming and a greater loss of collagen is permissible than with most pelts for chrome.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett
By boiling with water, dilute acids or dilute alkalies, collagen is split up into gelatin or glutin.
Principles and Practice of Fur Dressing and Fur Dyeing|William E. Austin

British Dictionary definitions for collagen

collagen

/ (ˈkɒlədʒən) /

noun

a fibrous scleroprotein of connective tissue and bones that is rich in glycine and proline and yields gelatine on boiling

Derived forms of collagen

collagenic (ˌkɒləˈdʒɛnɪk) or collagenous (kəˈlædʒənəs), adjective

Word Origin for collagen

C19: from Greek kolla glue + -gen

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 collagen

collagen

[ kŏl′ə-jən ]

Any of various tough, fibrous proteins found in bone, cartilage, skin, and other connective tissue. Collagens have great tensile strength, and provide these body structures with the ability to withstand forces that stretch them. Collagens consist of three polypeptide chains arranged in a triple helix, and are bundled together in fibers. When boiled in water, collagen is converted into gelatin.