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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.


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

"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

fatty acid Scientific  
/ fătē /
  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.


Etymology

Origin of fatty acid

First recorded in 1860–65

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.

They are especially interested in the mechanisms that control fatty acid movement.

From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2026

Headquartered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Cabio Biotech is one of the world's largest producers of ARA, a fatty acid used primarily in baby formula and food products.

From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026

Researchers identified specific oxylipins created from linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, another fatty acid found in soybean oil.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

A new study has found that the benefits of a fatty acid known as eicosapentaenoic acid vary widely from person to person.

From Science Daily • Oct. 29, 2025

Omega-6 is another fatty acid essential to humans.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan