Meaning & use
integument
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Meanings
nouncountablebiologytechnical
The natural outer layer of an animal or plant, such as skin, shell, fur or husk, that covers and protects its body.
Grammar: Countable in scientific writing: the integument of a beetle.
Patterns
- the integument of something
The beetle's hard integument protects it from predators.
Human skin is the body's largest integument.
The seed's integument was tough and brown.
nouncountablebiologyspecialist
In plants, the outer layer of tissue around an ovule, which develops into the seed coat.
Grammar: A botanical term: a flower ovule has one or two integuments.
The ovule is surrounded by an integument.
After fertilization, the integument becomes the seed coat.
Some plants have two integuments around each ovule.
Word forms
| plural | integuments |
|---|
Common combinations
- outer integument
- The outer integument of the seed protects it from dryness.
- hard integument
- The crab's hard integument acts like armor.
- integument of the body
- The integument of the body includes skin, hair and nails.
- insect integument
- The insect integument is made of a tough substance called chitin.
- integumentary system
- The integumentary system covers the whole body.
Synonyms and how they differ
- covering
- Covering is a general word for anything that covers, while integument is a precise scientific term for a natural outer layer.
- skin
- Skin is the everyday word, and integument is broader because it includes shells, husks and hide.
- husk
- Husk is the dry outer cover of seeds or grain, and is only one example of an integument.
- shell
- Shell is a hard outer case, but an integument might be soft, like skin.
Word family
- integumentary adjective
- relating to the skin and its coverings
- tegument noun
- a related word for a covering layer
Commonly confused: integument or integrity? integument or ligament?
integument vs integrity
Integrity means honesty, and it only looks like integument because of the shared start.
integument vs ligament
A ligament is a band of tissue joining bones, while an integument is an outer covering.
Practice
A biology textbook says the integument of a seed becomes its coat. What is an integument?
Choose one answer.
An integument is a natural outer covering. The other options name inner or unrelated parts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “integument”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.