a polysaccharide consisting of glucose units: the form in which carbohydrate is stored in the liver and muscles in humans and animals. It can easily be hydrolysed to glucose
Also called: animal starch
Derived forms
glycogenic (ˌɡlaɪkəʊˈdʒɛnɪk)
adjective
glycogen in American English
(ˈglaɪkədʒən; ˈglaɪkəˌdʒɛn)
noun
a polysaccharide, (C6H10O5)x, produced and stored in animal tissues, esp. in the liver and muscles, and changed into glucose as the body needs it
Word origin
glyco- + -gen
Examples of 'glycogen' in a sentence
glycogen
The dormant cells tend to take up more energy in the form of glycogen than healthy cells.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Most of the available carbohydrates come from glycogen stored in the liver and in the leg muscles.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
If breakfast is insufficient you come closer to the exhaustion of hepatic and muscular glycogen.
The Sun (2016)
Carbs are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver and provide energy during exercise.