polyunsaturated

[ pol-ee-uhn-sach-uh-rey-tid ]

adjectiveNutrition.
  1. of or noting a class of animal or vegetable fats, especially plant oils, whose molecules consist of carbon chains with many double bonds unsaturated by hydrogen atoms and that are associated with a low cholesterol content of the blood.

Origin of polyunsaturated

1
First recorded in 1930–35; poly- + unsaturated

Words Nearby polyunsaturated

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use polyunsaturated in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polyunsaturated

polyunsaturated

/ (ˌpɒlɪʌnˈsætʃəˌreɪtɪd) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to a class of animal and vegetable fats, the molecules of which consist of long carbon chains with many double bonds. Polyunsaturated compounds are less likely to be converted into cholesterol in the body. They are widely used in margarines and in the manufacture of paints and varnishes: See also monounsaturated

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for polyunsaturated

polyunsaturated

[ pŏl′ē-ŭn-săchə-rā′tĭd ]


  1. Relating to an organic compound, especially a fat, in which more than one pair of carbon atoms are joined by double or triple bonds. See more at unsaturated.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.