glycogen
n. uncountablen. a type of sugar that your body stores for energy. It is mostly found in your liver and muscles and is used when you need a quick burst of power.
n. a branched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals and fungi. It is primarily stored in the liver and skeletal muscle cells.
Your body converts glucose into glycogen for later use.
After a long run, your muscle glycogen stores are depleted, so you need to eat carbohydrates to replenish them.
The liver acts as a primary reservoir for glycogen, releasing glucose into the bloodstream during periods of fasting to maintain stable blood sugar levels.
Borrowed from French glycogène.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 26, 2026