glucose

[ gloo-kohs ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , having several optically different forms, the common dextrorotatory form dextroglucose, or d-glucose occurring in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, etc., and having a sweetness about one half that of ordinary sugar, and the rare levorotatory form levoglucose, or l-glucose not naturally occurring.
2. Also called starch syr·up [stahrch, , sur, -, uh, p, sir, -, uh, p]. a syrup containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrine, obtained by the incomplete hydrolysis of starch.

glucose

/ ˈɡluːkəʊz; -kəʊs; ɡluːˈkɒsɪk /

noun

1. a white crystalline monosaccharide sugar that has several optically active forms, the most abundant being dextrose: a major energy source in metabolism. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6
2. a yellowish syrup (or, after desiccation, a solid) containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrin, obtained by incomplete hydrolysis of starch: used in confectionery, fermentation, etc

glucose

/ glo̅o̅′kōs′ /

1. A monosaccharide sugar found in plant and animal tissues. Glucose is a product of photosynthesis, mostly incorporated into the disaccharide sugar sucrose rather than circulating free in the plant. Glucose is essential for energy production in animal cells. It is transported by blood and lymph to all the cells of the body, where it is metabolized to form carbon dioxide and water along with ATP, the main source of chemical energy for cellular processes. Glucose molecules can also be linked into chains to form the polysaccharides cellulose, glycogen, and starch. Chemical formula: C 6 H 12 O 6 .
2. See more at cellular respiration

glucose

1. The most common form of sugar , found extensively in the bodies of living things; a molecule composed of carbon , oxygen , and hydrogen .

Notes

Glucose is involved in the production of energy in both plants and animals.

Derived Forms

• glucosic, adjective

Other Words From

• glu·cos·ic [gloo-, koh, -sik], adjective
• non·glu·cose noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of glucose¹

Coined in 1838 by French chemist Jean-Baptiste André Dumas; from French, from Greek gleûkos “sweet new wine” (akin to glykýs “sweet”; glyco- )

Word History and Origins

Origin of glucose¹

C19: from French, from Greek gleukos sweet wine; related to Greek glukus sweet

Example Sentences

Biosensors measure a cyclist’s glucose to help optimize fuel levels.

From Washington Post

During a follow-up visit with his doctor, he learned he had dangerously high blood glucose levels and was readmitted.

From Washington Post

He started to focus less on blood glucose and more on making sure his patients could eat their soup before it cooled.

From Washington Post

Only certain molecules such as iron and glucose are “escorted” in by a special protein called transferrin, while all others are actively transported out.

From Ozy

This matters because over time, higher levels of sugar consumption will erode the body’s ability to successfully control blood glucose levels, a process that can begin in childhood.

From No Straight News

The researchers found that the fake stuff drives the kind of glucose intolerance that can lead to diabetes in human.

From The Daily Beast

The fix: Get a fasting glucose test during your routine screenings, suggests Dr. Rindfleisch.

From The Daily Beast

The cells in your body run on glucose from sugar and ketones from fat.

From The Daily Beast

In Willpower, Baumeister and Tierney convincingly describe another addendum: willpower depends on glucose as an energy source.

From The Daily Beast

Dieting, as the glucose breakthrough reveals, provides an especially tricky test of willpower.

From The Daily Beast

It behaves the same as glucose with all the ordinary tests, and can be distinguished only by polarization.

From Project Gutenberg

A portion of the water solution was heated with glucose and a few drops of sodium hydroxide.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the commonest adulterations is the substitution of grape sugar (glucose) for cane sugar.

From Project Gutenberg

Sugar may also be made from any form of starch; this is glucose, which is put up in cans and sold as an imitation of maple syrup.

From Project Gutenberg

But in all artificially colored vinegars, spirit sugar and glucose vinegars, the sodium flame predominates.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cellulose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar