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disaccharide

American  
[dahy-sak-uh-rahyd, -rid] / daɪˈsæk əˌraɪd, -rɪd /

noun

Chemistry.

  1. any of a group of carbohydrates, as sucrose or lactose, that yield monosaccharides on hydrolysis.

disaccharide British  
/ daɪˈsækəˌraɪd, -rɪd /

noun

  1. any of a class of sugars, such as maltose, lactose, and sucrose, having two linked monosaccharide units per molecule

"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
disaccharide Scientific  
/ dī-săk′ə-rīd′ /

  1. Any of a class of sugars, including lactose and sucrose, that are composed of two monosaccharides.

Etymology

Origin of disaccharide

First recorded in 1890–95; di- 1 + saccharide

Compare meaning

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Vocabulary lists containing disaccharide

Biochemistry

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Nutrition and Digestion - High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maltose, which is found in breakfast cereals and breads, is a disaccharide of two glucose molecules.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2024

Lactose, or milk sugar, is a disaccharide made of two simple sugars – glucose and galactose – in a 1:1 ratio.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2024

Saliva also contains an enzyme called salivary amylase that begins the process of converting starches in the food into a disaccharide called maltose.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Lactose is a disaccharide consisting of the monomers glucose and galactose.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

When completely hydrolyzed, they yield three molecules of monosaccharides; when partially hydrolyzed, one each of a disaccharide and a monosaccharide.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.