Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The viscous, slippery substance that consists chiefly of mucin, water, cells, and inorganic salts and is secreted as a protective lubricant coating by cells and glands of the mucous membranes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A viscid fluid secreted by the mucous membrane of animals. It is characterized by the presence of considerable quantities of mucin. Also called animal mucilage.
  • noun In botany, gummy matter soluble in water.
  • noun The slime of fish

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Physiol.) A viscid fluid secreted by mucous membranes, which it serves to moisten and protect. It covers the lining membranes of all the cavities which open externally, such as those of the mouth, nose, lungs, intestinal canal, urinary passages, etc.
  • noun (Physiol.) Any other animal fluid of a viscid quality, as the synovial fluid, which lubricates the cavities of the joints; -- improperly so used.
  • noun (Bot.) A gelatinous or slimy substance found in certain algæ and other plants.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun physiology A slippery secretion from the lining of the mucous membranes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun protective secretion of the mucus membranes; in the gut it lubricates the passage of food and protects the epithelial cells; in the nose and throat and lungs it can make it difficult for bacteria to penetrate the body through the epithelium

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin mūcus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowed from Latin mūcus.

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Examples

  • The mucus is interesting stuff too; it is a glycoprotein which is mostly glyco and not very proteinaceous, and which is secreted at about 99% water.

    How a snail moves - Part 1 AYDIN 2009

  • Such a cytokine storm as part of the adaptive response is characteristic of avian (bird) flu, where patients “drown in mucus” due to the overwhelming nature of the response and often require ventilator support to avoid death.

    Creeping Crud grrm 2010

  • This occurs when muscles surrounding the airways tighten and squeeze them and excessive mucus is produced.

    Glossary 2010

  • How did we function before the good drugs, was the world simply covered in mucus? did we all walk around honking like geese? or did we just curl up and die to be covered in layers of book dust? at

    Archive 2008-06-01 2008

  • How did we function before the good drugs, was the world simply covered in mucus? did we all walk around honking like geese? or did we just curl up and die to be covered in layers of book dust? at

    waiting for drugs 2008

  • A scientist who specializes in synthetic mucus is convinced one of the dog show fanatics broke into his lab to steal some.

    Eureka Recap: Best In Faux : SF Universe - SF Universe is your Science Fiction central. From SciFi television to movies to books and more. All the latest news, reviews and insights from SciFi experts. 2008

  • Unfortunately mucus is not of the number, so the common Moslem is very offensive in the matter of nose.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • The pseudoscience of "toxins" and the need for detoxification goes without saying, and how mucus is supposed to get to your feet doesn't bear thinking about.

    Dodgy detox Ray Girvan 2004

  • The pseudoscience of "toxins" and the need for detoxification goes without saying, and how mucus is supposed to get to your feet doesn't bear thinking about.

    Archive 2004-05-01 Ray Girvan 2004

  • In this case exclusively water, not mucus, is required, and water is actually secreted.

    Ivan Pavlov - Nobel Lecture 1967

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