ketosis
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ketosis
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How does ketosis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When the body runs out of carbohydrates to burn for energy, it burns fat instead and goes through a process called ketosis. When someone is fasting, it's not uncommon for their body to enter a state of ketosis. The process has been studied by scientists and found to be useful in treating some kinds of diabetes and epilepsy. Sometimes people eliminate certain kinds of carbohydrates from their diet in order to put their body into ketosis, as a way of burning fat. Ketosis adds the medical -osis suffix, meaning "a state of disease," to ketone, the chemical name for the molecules produced by the liver during ketosis.
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.
The ketogenic diet gets its name from ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body switches from using sugar as its main fuel to burning fat.
From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026
The crux of a keto diet is ketosis, which is "a metabolic adaptation to allow the body to survive in a period of famine," per dieticians from the University of Chicago Medicine.
From Salon • Mar. 12, 2023
The popular keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that puts your body into ketosis, the process in which your body burns fat, rather than carbohydrates, for fuel.
From Fox News • Jan. 5, 2022
“It’s not humanly possible to remain in ketosis in a healthy way until you are 100 years old,” Sperling says.
From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2021
The odor is caused by ketones, chemicals produced when the body begins to burn fat instead of glucose for energy, a metabolic state known as ketosis.
From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2021
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.
