galactose

American  

[guh-lak-tohs] / gəˈlæk toʊs /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble hexose sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , obtained in its dextrorotatory form from milk sugar by hydrolysis and in its levorotatory form from mucilages.

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galactose British  

/ ɡəˈlæktəʊz, -əʊs /

noun

1. a white water-soluble monosaccharide found in lactose. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6

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galactose Scientific  

/ gə-lăk′tōs′ /

1. A monosaccharide commonly occurring in lactose and in certain pectins, gums, and mucilages. Chemical formula: C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ .

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Etymology

Origin of galactose

First recorded in 1865–70; galact- + -ose ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

galactose

The researchers discovered that intelectin-2 from both humans and mice can bind to a sugar molecule called galactose.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026

This enzyme enables the bacteria to generate galactose directly from glucose.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 13, 2026

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

Following her illness, Mills was diagnosed with galactosaemia, a rare genetic disorder affecting up to one in 45,000 babies which prevents her body from turning galactose into glucose.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2024

The sugar which constitutes the alcoholic portion of their structure appears to be galactose in every case which has been reported.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

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Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar

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