Definition of "dextrin" [dex•trin]

• Any of various soluble polysaccharides obtained from starch by the application of heat or acids and used mainly as adhesives and thickening agents. (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.

• "It was formerly believed that by the action of diastase on starch the latter is first converted into a gummy substance termed dextrin, which is then subsequently transformed into a sugar -- glucose."
• "At the entrance to the store, leaflets were promoting cut-price alcohol with free mobile phone deals; the aisle ends had special offers for Nestlé's coffee-style caffeine drink Ricoffy listing dextrin (a starch sugar) and dextrose (a form of sugar) as its two main ingredients, and Nestlé's Cremora, a coffee creamer whose principle ingredients are glucose syrup solids and palm fat."
• "In addition, the combination of glucose and fructose and some maltose, melezitose and dextrin makes honey an excellent source of caloric energy."