carbohydrate

American  

[kahr-boh-hahy-dreyt, -buh-] / ˌkɑr boʊˈhaɪ dreɪt, -bə- /

noun

carbohydrates plural

1. any of a class of organic compounds that are polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones, or change to such substances on simple chemical transformations, as hydrolysis, oxidation, or reduction, and that form the supporting tissues of plants and are important food for animals and people.

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carbohydrate British  

/ ˌkɑːbəʊˈhaɪdreɪt /

noun

1. Informal term: carb.  any of a large group of organic compounds, including sugars, such as sucrose, and polysaccharides, such as cellulose, glycogen, and starch, that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the general formula C m (H 2 O) n: an important source of food and energy for animals

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carbohydrate Scientific  

/ kär′bō-hī′drāt′ /

1. Any of a large class of organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually with twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon or oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates are produced in green plants by photosynthesis and serve as a major energy source in animal diets. Sugars, starches, and cellulose are all carbohydrates.

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Usage

What is a carbohydrate? A carbohydrate is an organic compound that is made of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Most carbohydrates have twice as much hydrogen as oxygen and carbon. In chemistry, a compound is a pure substance of two or more elements stuck together. An organic compound is a compound that contains hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbons). Carbohydrates are extremely important to life and neither plants nor animals would be able to survive without them. Fortunately, carbohydrates are abundant in nature. Both the cell walls of plants and the tissues of animals are made partly out of carbohydrates. Additionally, both plants and animals use carbohydrates to produce and store energy. Without carbohydrates, neither plant nor animal cells could function and both would quickly die. Carbohydrates come from green plants as a product of the process known as photosynthesis in which plants combine carbon dioxide and water. Typically, animals get their carbohydrates by eating the plants, eating the fruits and vegetables of the plant, or eating other animals. It is very common in nutritional discussions to shorten carbohydrates to carbs.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncarbohydrate
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• carbohydrates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of carbohydrate

First recorded in 1865–70; carbo- + hydrate

Explanation

The word carbohydrate refers to a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that is a major source of energy for animals. Carbohydrates can be found in many foods — especially in a plate of spaghetti. Often formed by a plant, a carbohydrate may be a sugar, starch, or cellulose that typically breaks down into energy within the body. So when you hydrate — or “water” — a carbon in just the right way, it can lead to the stuff that makes up bread, pasta, apples, beans, and potatoes. Carbohydrate often goes by its less threatening nickname carb, though beware: abbreviating the word does nothing to lessen its calories.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carbohydrate carbohydrates

In the study, mice ate a high fat, low carbohydrate diet and ran regularly on exercise wheels.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026

The findings point to a carbohydrate rich diet and provide strong evidence that fermented foods and beverages were regularly consumed.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026

I think he found it hard getting the volume of carbohydrate drink into him, because he was sweating so quickly.

From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025

But for people with coeliac disease, a lot of these go-to carbohydrate sources are off-limits, because they contain gluten.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

For this reason, an acre of mixed grasses can actually produce more carbohydrate and protein in a year than an acre of field corn.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

“High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Most of the released material consisted of proteins and carbohydrates that free-living deep ocean microbes can readily consume.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

Somewhere in the back of my mind lurked the memory of soy-butter corn ramen, another reminder that corn, umami, fat and slurpable carbohydrates have always gotten along beautifully.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

"When you make breakfast, you've got to weigh everything, counting how many carbohydrates are in it, so that you know the right amount of insulin to give."

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Another major difference among agricultural systems involved the main sources of calories and carbohydrates.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar