ketone

[ kee-tohn ]

/ ˈki toʊn /

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noun Chemistry.

any of a class of organic compounds containing a carbonyl group, CO, attached to two alkyl groups, as CH3COCH3 or CH3COC2H5.

adjective

containing the ketone group.

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Origin of ketone

1850–55; <German Keton, aphetic alteration of Acetonacetone

OTHER WORDS FROM ketone

ke·ton·ic

[ki-ton-ik], /kɪˈtɒn ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby ketone

ketogenic, ketogenic diet, ketohexose, ketolysis, ketonaemia, ketone, ketone body, ketone group, ketonemia, ketonuria, ketose

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

How to use ketone in a sentence

It also acts as a chromogenic centre when double bonds or ethylenic linkages are present, as in fluorene ketone or fluorenone.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various
If the groups R and R′ are identical, the ketone is called a simple ketone, if unlike, a mixed ketone.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 7|Various
The hexoses all contain five alcoholic groups and one primary aldehyde, or one secondary aldehyde (ketone), group.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
Even the common linseed contains a glucoside which breaks up into sugar, prussic acid, and a ketone.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth

Ionone, a ketone first prepared by Tiemann, and having when diluted a pronounced violet odour.
The Handbook of Soap Manufacture|W. H. Simmons

British Dictionary definitions for ketone

ketone

/ (ˈkiːtəʊn) /

noun

any of a class of compounds with the general formula R′COR, where R and R′ are alkyl or aryl groupsSee also acetone

Derived forms of ketone

ketonic (kɪˈtɒnɪk), adjective

Word Origin for ketone

C19: from German Keton, from Aketon acetone

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 ketone

ketone

[ kē′tōn′ ]

Any of a class of organic compounds having the general formula RCOR′, where R and R′ are hydrocarbon radicals that are both attached to the carbon atom of the carbonyl (CO) group. Acetone is a ketone.