[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/melanin/)

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# melanin

noun (melanin — uncountable)

«melanin» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Melanin is the natural dark substance in skin, hair and eyes that gives them their colour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#m1)
2. Melanin helps protect skin from the sun's harmful rays. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science, melanin explains why skin tans in the sun and why people have different skin colours: more melanin makes darker skin. Freckles are spots of extra melanin. People with albinism have very little melanin.

### Examples

- Melanin gives your skin its colour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x1)
- Freckles are spots with more melanin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x2)
- Skin makes more melanin in the sun, so you tan. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x3)
- Even with lots of melanin, you still need sun cream. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x4)
- People with albinism have very little melanin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x5)
- Melanin also colours your hair and eyes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. Skin colour is just the amount of melanin — it says nothing about what a person is like. A tan is the skin protecting itself, a sign of sun damage, not health.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «melanin» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/melanin/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«melanin» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/melanin.html) on Mova free.