gluten
Americannoun
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the tough, viscid, nitrogenous substance remaining when the flour of wheat or other grain is washed to remove the starch.
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Archaic. glue or a gluey substance.
noun
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The mixture of proteins, including gliadins and glutelins, found in wheat grains, which are not soluble in water and which give wheat dough its elastic texture.
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Any of the prolamins found in cereal grains, especially the prolamins in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats, that cause digestive disorders such as celiac disease.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gluten
First recorded in 1590–1600, gluten is from the Latin word glūten glue
Explanation
Gluten is a protein that's found in some grains, such as wheat. It's the gluten in wheat that makes bread dough strong and stretchy. If you've ever kneaded dough for cinnamon rolls, or stretched pizza dough into a large circle, you know how elastic the combination of yeast, sugar, flour, and water comes to feel. People who are allergic or sensitive to gluten avoid eating grains that contain it, but those who aren't bothered by gluten enjoy the chewy texture of homemade wheat bread. In Latin, gluten means "glue."
Vocabulary lists containing gluten
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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A Toast to Bread
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Voilà: Croissant Lingo
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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.
During the final months of my degree in 2013, I started my gluten-free food blog called Gluten Free Cuppa Tea.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2025
Alongside its selection of dairy-free and vegetarian-friendly pizzas, TJ's also offers gluten-free options, such as its Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza.
From Salon • Oct. 25, 2022
“It’s a way for tourists to know we’re here,” said artist Mark Lauckner, who blows, casts and presses glass at the Glass Foundry, just past Laughing Daughters Gluten Free Foods off Upper Ganges Road.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2022
Gluten is a protein found in the grains of wheat, barley and rye.
From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2021
That night we ordered General Tso’s Gluten for dinner and I noticed that Dad was using a fork, even though he was perfect with chopsticks.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
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.
