Definition of "chitin" [chi•tin]

• A tough, protective, semitransparent substance, primarily a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide, forming the principal component of arthropod exoskeletons and the cell walls of certain fungi. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Her chitin was the color of raw amethyst, the glow of her great golden compound eyes was significantly dimmed, and her antennae hung forward in limp arcs."
• "Their chitin was a rich maroon color, black under - neath and marked by thick black vertical stripes across the vestigial wing cases."
• "If the gene, called chitin synthase, could be completely silenced, the mosquitoes may die without the use of pesticides because the chitin biosynthesis pathway would be blocked, Zhu said."