glucose

[ gloo-kohs ]
See synonyms for glucose on Thesaurus.com
nounBiochemistry.
  1. a sugar, C6H12O6, 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 syrup. a syrup containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrine, obtained by the incomplete hydrolysis of starch.

Origin of glucose

1
Coined in 1838 by French chemist Jean-Baptiste André Dumas; from French, from Greek gleûkos “sweet new wine” (akin to glykýs “sweet”; see glyco-)

Other words from glucose

  • glu·cos·ic, adjective
  • non·glu·cose, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for glucose

glucose

/ (ˈɡluːkəʊz, -kəʊs) /


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

Origin of glucose

1
C19: from French, from Greek gleukos sweet wine; related to Greek glukus sweet

Derived forms of glucose

  • glucosic (ɡluːˈkɒsɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for glucose

glucose

[ glōōkōs′ ]


  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: C6H12O6. See more at cellular respiration Krebs cycle photosynthesis.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for glucose

glucose

[ (glooh-kohs) ]


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

Notes for glucose

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.