Glycogen

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A polysaccharide that is the main form of carbohydrate storage in animals; converted to glucose as needed. countable, uncountable

    "Specifically the liver converts glucose into glycogen — a more compact chemical. It is a little bit like shrink-wrapping food so you can pack more of it into your freezer."

  2. 2
    one form in which body fuel is stored; stored primarily in the liver and broken down into glucose when needed by the body wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
animal starchcarbohydratehepatin

Example

More examples

"Specifically the liver converts glucose into glycogen — a more compact chemical. It is a little bit like shrink-wrapping food so you can pack more of it into your freezer."

Etymology

Borrowed from French glycogène.

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