How to Use chitin in a Sentence
chitin
noun-
The chitin for use on Mars, the study said, could come from insects.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 16 Sep. 2020
-
Don’t bother fighting with the tails — that bit of crunchy chitin is a bonus.
—Dominic Armato, azcentral, 20 Nov. 2019
-
It’s made of fibres of chitin, the same substance that makes up most of the mantis shrimp’s shell.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2012
-
That food is the ancient worms’ fossilized tubes, which are made of protein and chitin (the same stuff crustaceans use to make their shells).
—Matt Simon, Wired, 8 Feb. 2022
-
One of the tunnels then fills with chitin and solidifies.
—Quanta Magazine, 21 June 2021
-
The authors said that the extraction of chitin would be a byproduct of the crew's food supply and consumption.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 16 Sep. 2020
-
The scales of chitin (a polysaccharide common to insects) are arranged like roof tiles.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 11 Sep. 2020
-
And while no one so far has attempted synthesizing chitin in the lab, who knows what the future might hold.
—Miriam Fauzia, Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2022
-
But Western media still let out an audible cringe at the thought of crunching down on chitin.
—Kyle Hill, Discover Magazine, 5 June 2013
-
Perhaps the biggest hurdle is the chitin, which is tough to produce is large quantities.
—Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 1 Aug. 2018
-
As chitin, proteins and DNA are broken into smaller molecules, the trap must move them from the outside world to the inside of the plant.
—Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022
-
Unlike plants, the cell walls of mushrooms are lined with a fibrous substance called chitin, which makes them strong and flexible.
—Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, 22 Sep. 2017
-
What contributes to a mushroom’s unique texture is the chitin that is contained within its cell walls.
—Catherine Hu, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2015
-
The exoskeleton of crabs contains chitin, one of the most abundant biodegradable materials in the world.
—Laine Welch, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Jan. 2018
-
Like all insects, ants have exoskeletons made of chitin, which is tough and flexible.
—National Geographic, 25 Nov. 2020
-
The worm tubes are made of chitin and tough proteins, but the sponge microbes have just the right enzymes to break down these normally indigestible substances.
—Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2022
-
Finally, the mantis shrimp’s club has chitin fibres wrapped around its sides (green in the image), which compress the entire structure and, again, slows the spread of any cracks.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2012
-
Both fungi and insects use the polysaccharide chitin to build cell walls, while plants use cellulose.
—Eleanor McCrary, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2023
-
Adding products containing chitin to the soil can help reduce problems.
—The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, 21 July 2015
-
In nature, scales of chitin (a polysaccharide common to insects) are arranged like roof tiles.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2022
-
These sprout from trees that the fungi are in the process of consuming from the inside out, transforming lignin and cellulose into chitin.
—Discover Magazine, 23 Aug. 2012
-
Loron’s team also identified fibrous chitin in their cell walls.
—Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2019
-
Each salt-baked crab was neatly quartered into segments, the delicate crunch of chitin and fresh green chili giving way to fleeting bits of sweet flesh.
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2022
-
The brilliant white of its scales does not derive from a pigment, but rather from intricate networks of chitin filaments.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 15 Mar. 2018
-
Some of the animal ingredients used during the fining process are casein, chitin, egg whites, gelatin, and isinglass (from the swim bladders of fish).
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2021
-
The first layer of protection is a thin covering of the mineral hydroxyapatite, found in hair and teeth and in the chitin that forms insect shells.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018
-
That’s because butterflies’ chitin covering is strong—and the addition of the wax layer weakens it.
—Anil Oza, Science | AAAS, 22 June 2021
-
The key ingredient is chitin -- a fibrous substance that is a component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans and insects, and the scales of fish and amphibians.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 16 Sep. 2020
-
The researchers found their answer in a mix of cellulose fibers and chitin, a material commonly found in many animal shells.
—Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 1 Aug. 2018
-
Researchers found that a particular arm of the immune system is involved in chitin digestion.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chitin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated: