connective tissue

noun

: a tissue of mesodermal origin that consists of various cells (such as fibroblasts and macrophages) and interlacing protein fibers (as of collagen) embedded in a chiefly carbohydrate ground substance, that supports, ensheathes, and binds together other tissues, and that includes loose and dense forms (such as adipose tissue, tendons, ligaments, and aponeuroses) and specialized forms (such as cartilage and bone)

Examples of connective tissue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The liver had subscapular hematoma, which a 2020 Science Direct article says is spontaneous bleeding between the connective tissue surrounding the liver and the functional tissue of the liver. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2025

If the needle gets too close to the fascia (the connective tissue around the muscle), the patient will be able to tell. —Catherine Santino, People.com, 1 Feb. 2025

The movie actually feels a little more like Traffic, though, with multiple stories occasionally intersecting (with the connective tissue of two money laundering narrators played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas) in service of a larger point about … well, about Something Bad In Society. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025

The weakened connective tissues in EDS might allow the cerebellar tonsils to herniate into the spinal canal more easily, linking the two conditions. —David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for connective tissue

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

Kids Definition

connective tissue

noun

: a tissue (as bone, cartilage, or tendon) that forms a supporting framework for the body or its parts and has protein fibers between the cells composing it

Medical Definition

connective tissue

noun

con·​nec·​tive tissue kə-ˌnek-tiv- 

: a tissue of mesodermal origin that consists of various cells (as fibroblasts and macrophages) and interlacing protein fibers (as of collagen) embedded in a chiefly carbohydrate ground substance, that supports, ensheathes, and binds together other tissues, and that includes loose and dense forms (as adipose tissue, tendons, ligaments, and aponeuroses) and specialized forms (as cartilage and bone)