fatty acid

American  

noun

Biochemistry.

1. any of a class of aliphatic acids, especially palmitic, stearic, or oleic acid, consisting of a long hydrocarbon chain ending in a carboxyl group that bonds to glycerol to form a fat.

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fatty acid British  

noun

1. any of a class of aliphatic carboxylic acids, such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid, that form part of a lipid molecule

2. another name for carboxylic acid, used esp of a naturally occurring one

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fatty acid Scientific  

/ făt′ē /

1. Any of a large group of organic acids, especially those found in animal and vegetable fats and oils. Fatty acids are mainly composed of long chains of hydrocarbons ending in a carboxyl group. A fatty acid is saturated when the bonds between carbon atoms are all single bonds. It is unsaturated when any of these bonds is a double bond.

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Etymology

Origin of fatty acid

First recorded in 1860–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fatty acid

They also identify ACOT1 as a potentially valuable treatment target and highlight the importance of unsaturated fatty acid metabolism in controlling inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

The team also discovered an unexpected change involving arachidonic acid, the fatty acid the body uses to produce prostaglandins.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

In fact, participants following the microbiome-enhancer diet absorbed fewer net calories than those eating the Western diet, even though the higher-fiber diet supported greater microbial activity and increased short-chain fatty acid production.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

He told me that because animals like cows and bison share a similar fatty acid profile with humans, tallow-based creams are uniquely compatible with our skin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Omega-6 is another fatty acid essential to humans.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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