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

"Shetland tatties are very plentiful and very available. Shetland tatties are my favourite source of carbohydrate without a shadow of a doubt. Getting other sources of carbohydrates is extremely difficult."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Other popular supplements include carbohydrate gels, which Close says were key in the first sub-two hour marathon run earlier this year by Kenyan long-distance runner Sabastian Sawe.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026

Two major carbohydrate components were studied: fucose and galactose.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2026

There are innumerable plant-animal combinations, mostly in the sea, where the green plant cells provide carbohydrate and oxygen for the animal and receive a share of energy in return.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

"Shetland tatties are very plentiful and very available. Shetland tatties are my favourite source of carbohydrate without a shadow of a doubt. Getting other sources of carbohydrates is extremely difficult."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

But intense exercise can improve fat burning and metabolic flexibility – the ability to switch between burning carbohydrates and fat depending on what’s available.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

In the 1970s, cardiologist Robert C. Atkins developed the Atkins diet, which limits carbohydrates while increasing protein and fat intake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Gruel recalls growing up in what he calls the “microwave generation,” in a house stocked with cereal, pasta, refined carbohydrates and premade salad dressings.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

There are small traces of nitrogen, water vapor, argon, carbon monoxide and other gases, but the only hydrocarbons or carbohydrates present are there in less than 0.1 parts per million.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar