CHITIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chitin mean? 

• CHITIN (noun)
  The noun CHITIN has 1 sense:

1. a tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi

  Familiarity information: CHITIN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHITIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("chitin" is a kind of...):

polyose; polysaccharide (any of a class of carbohydrates whose molecules contain chains of monosaccharide molecules)

Meronyms (substance of "chitin"):

glucosamine (an amino derivative of glucose that is a component of many polysaccharides)

Derivation:

chitinous (of or resembling chitin)

 Context examples 

The hard outer shell of shrimp, lobsters, and many insects is made of chitin.

(Chitin, NCI Dictionary)

In the oceans, some carbon-containing compounds, such as sugars and proteins, are quickly gobbled up by microorganisms, while others, such as the chitin found in fish scales, are much harder to consume.

(Microbes in underground aquifers beneath deep-sea Mid-Atlantic Ridge 'chow down' on carbon, National Science Foundation)

A microscopy staining method that utilizes Iodine, an element belonging to the halogen group, which specifically stains polysaccharides such as cellulose, chitin, glycogen, and starch a blue color.

(Iodine Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

Carbohydrates can be small and simple (for example, glucose) or they can be large and complex (for example, polysaccharides such as starch, chitin or cellulose).

(Carbohydrate, NCI Dictionary)

A microscopy staining method that utilizes calcofluor, a fluorescent dye that preferentially stains chitin and cellulose on the cell walls of fungi, parasites, and some cysts of the Pneumocystis genus.

(Calcofluor White Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)