Lectin

//ˈlɛktɪn// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of a class of proteins that bind specific carbohydrates.

    "The result proved less about the safety of genetic engineering than it did about the safety of lectins – known animal poisons."

  2. 2
    any of several plant glycoproteins that act like specific antibodies but are not antibodies in that they are not evoked by an antigenic stimulus wordnet

Example

More examples

"The new method uses proteins from mushrooms. The proteins are called lectins. The lectins cause an animal's own defense system to release chemicals that fight the parasites. Mushroom lectin is injected into chicken embryos. The lectin is also added to drinking water for chickens."

Etymology

From Latin lēctus (“chosen”) + -in. Coined by W.C. Boyd in 1954.

Related phrases

lectin affinity chromatography

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