lignin

American  

[lig-nin] / ˈlɪg nɪn /

noun

1. Botany. an organic substance that, with cellulose, forms the chief part of woody tissue.

2. Papermaking. impure matter found in wood pulp.

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lignin British  

/ ˈlɪɡnɪn /

noun

1. a complex polymer occurring in certain plant cell walls making the plant rigid

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lignin Scientific  

/ lĭg′nĭn /

1. A complex organic compound that binds to cellulose fibers and hardens and strengthens the cell walls of plants. Lignin is a polymer consisting of various aromatic alcohols, and is the chief noncarbohydrate constituent of wood.

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Etymology

Origin of lignin

First recorded in 1815–25; lign- + -in ²

Example Sentences

In this work, the team converted lignin into carbon fibers using electrospinning and thermal treatment.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2025

He says it improves the ‘tannin and lignin extraction from the tea leaves,’ and I guess his family thought that was important.

From Salon • Aug. 1, 2024

Microbiologists have long known that those animals capable of digesting lignin -- like termites -- host specialized, symbiotic colonies of microbes in their guts that do the work of breaking the lignin down for them.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

In 2019, Liu and his colleagues discovered that a specific cytochrome b5 protein, CB5D, is indispensable for the production of S-lignin but not the other, more ancient types of lignin.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

Even cellulose and lignin, insoluble structural materials that plants cannot convert back into soluble materials, are made from molecules that once were in solution.

From Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Solomon, Steve