Word
mucous
Phoneticsmu·cous
US/ˈmjukəs/
UK/mjˈuːkəs/
Definition
adj. relating to mucus, which is the thick, slippery liquid your body makes to protect and lubricate parts like your nose and throat.
adj. relating to or consisting of mucus, a viscous, slippery secretion produced by mucous membranes. Typically used attributively to describe glands, membranes, or secretions.
Examples
“The doctor checked the patient's mucous membranes for signs of infection.”
“The body produces mucous to trap dust and bacteria before they can enter the lungs.”
“In many amphibians, the skin acts as a mucous membrane, allowing for the exchange of gases and the absorption of moisture from the surrounding environment.”
Examples
simple
“The doctor checked the patient's mucous membranes for signs of infection.”
contextual
“The body produces mucous to trap dust and bacteria before they can enter the lungs.”
complex
“In many amphibians, the skin acts as a mucous membrane, allowing for the exchange of gases and the absorption of moisture from the surrounding environment.”
Real-World Examples
“Common symptoms are severe stomach cramps and watery diarrhea that may contain blood or mucous.” “Given that each snail only contained the tiniest amount of mucous, it could take some 10,000 to make just a single gram of dye .” Etymology
Naturalized from Late Latin mūcōsus, from Latin mūcus. By surface analysis, muc(us) + -ous = muco- + -ous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/mucous