fructose

American  

[fruhk-tohs, frook-, frook-] / ˈfrʌk toʊs, ˈfrʊk-, ˈfruk- /

noun

1. Chemistry, Pharmacology. a yellowish to white, crystalline, water-soluble, levorotatory ketose sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , sweeter than sucrose, occurring in invert sugar, honey, and a great many fruits: used in foodstuffs and in medicine chiefly in solution as an intravenous nutrient.

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fructose British  

/ -təʊz, ˈfrʌktəʊs, ˈfrʊk- /

noun

1. Also called: laevulose.   fruit sugar.  a white crystalline water-soluble sugar occurring in honey and many fruits. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6

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fructose Scientific  

/ frŭk′tōs′ /

1. A simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in honey, many fruits, and some vegetables. Fructose linked to glucose is the structure of table sugar, or sucrose. Fructose is an important source of energy for cellular processes. Chemical formula: C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ .

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Etymology

Origin of fructose

First recorded in 1860–65; fruct- + -ose ²

Explanation

Fructose is a kind of sugar. You consume fructose every time you eat an apple or a bunch of grapes, or when you stir honey into your tea and take a sip. Fructose is also known as "fruit sugar" because it's present in most types of fruit. Chemically, fructose is a simple or hexose sugar, one with six carbon atoms in it, and it's absorbed directly into your bloodstream when you eat it. It's also one of the very sweetest sugars. The word dates from 1857, from the Latin fructus, or "fruit," and the suffix -ose, used in chemical names of sugars.

Example Sentences

The researchers suggest fructose may once have provided an evolutionary advantage.

From Science Daily • May 11, 2026

In grueling endurance sports like cycling, and now running, athletes are gobbling down unprecedented amounts of sugary carbohydrates, both in training and competition, via fast-acting gels and bottles loaded with glucose and fructose.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

And it is one of very few to still use real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

Tagatose exists naturally, but only in very small quantities compared with common sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

Yet in nature we would never find a fruit with anywhere near the amount of fructose in a soda.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar