What does "chitin" mean?

A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans.

What is a synonym for "chitin"?

Common synonyms include: armor, armor, carapace, cortex, entomolin, mail.

Chitin

//ˈkaɪtɪn// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans. countable, uncountable
"Chitin usually occurs throughout Invertebrates in the form of an investment to the outermost cellular layer or ectoderm."
2
a tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

armor armor carapace cortex entomolin mail

Example

More examples

"Chitin usually occurs throughout Invertebrates in the form of an investment to the outermost cellular layer or ectoderm."

Etymology

From French chitine, from Latin chitōn (“mollusk”), from Ancient Greek χιτών (khitṓn). See also chiton.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.