carbohydrate

American  

[kahr-boh-hahy-dreyt, -buh-] / ˌkɑr boʊˈhaɪ dreɪt, -bə- /

noun

carbohydrates plural

1. any of a class of organic compounds that are polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones, or change to such substances on simple chemical transformations, as hydrolysis, oxidation, or reduction, and that form the supporting tissues of plants and are important food for animals and people.

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carbohydrate British  

/ ˌkɑːbəʊˈhaɪdreɪt /

noun

1. Informal term: carb.  any of a large group of organic compounds, including sugars, such as sucrose, and polysaccharides, such as cellulose, glycogen, and starch, that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the general formula C m (H 2 O) n: an important source of food and energy for animals

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carbohydrate Scientific  

/ kär′bō-hī′drāt′ /

1. Any of a large class of organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually with twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon or oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates are produced in green plants by photosynthesis and serve as a major energy source in animal diets. Sugars, starches, and cellulose are all carbohydrates.

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Usage

What is a carbohydrate? A carbohydrate is an organic compound that is made of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Most carbohydrates have twice as much hydrogen as oxygen and carbon. In chemistry, a compound is a pure substance of two or more elements stuck together. An organic compound is a compound that contains hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbons). Carbohydrates are extremely important to life and neither plants nor animals would be able to survive without them. Fortunately, carbohydrates are abundant in nature. Both the cell walls of plants and the tissues of animals are made partly out of carbohydrates. Additionally, both plants and animals use carbohydrates to produce and store energy. Without carbohydrates, neither plant nor animal cells could function and both would quickly die. Carbohydrates come from green plants as a product of the process known as photosynthesis in which plants combine carbon dioxide and water. Typically, animals get their carbohydrates by eating the plants, eating the fruits and vegetables of the plant, or eating other animals. It is very common in nutritional discussions to shorten carbohydrates to carbs.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncarbohydrate
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• carbohydrates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of carbohydrate

First recorded in 1865–70; carbo- + hydrate

Explanation

The word carbohydrate refers to a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that is a major source of energy for animals. Carbohydrates can be found in many foods — especially in a plate of spaghetti. Often formed by a plant, a carbohydrate may be a sugar, starch, or cellulose that typically breaks down into energy within the body. So when you hydrate — or “water” — a carbon in just the right way, it can lead to the stuff that makes up bread, pasta, apples, beans, and potatoes. Carbohydrate often goes by its less threatening nickname carb, though beware: abbreviating the word does nothing to lessen its calories.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carbohydrate carbohydrates

Taken together, the findings show that arginine made dental biofilms less harmful by lowering acidity, altering carbohydrate composition, and reshaping the microbial community.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2026

I think he found it hard getting the volume of carbohydrate drink into him, because he was sweating so quickly.

From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025

But for people with coeliac disease, a lot of these go-to carbohydrate sources are off-limits, because they contain gluten.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

When it is not possible to keep rooms heated to 18C, he recommends wearing gloves, warm socks and a woolly hat, eating a higher carbohydrate diet and generating more body heat by moving around.

From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025

The usual way of looking at them is as enslaved creatures, captured to supply ATP for cells unable to respire on their own, or to provide carbohydrate and oxygen for cells unequipped for photosynthesis.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Kerr also worked with a chef and nutritionist who fed him plenty of carbohydrates and protein but also raw vegetables to boost overall health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Olive oil and a lower intake of refined carbohydrates were linked to higher levels of SHMOOSE.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

“High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Somewhere in the back of my mind lurked the memory of soy-butter corn ramen, another reminder that corn, umami, fat and slurpable carbohydrates have always gotten along beautifully.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

In the process we exhale carbon dioxide, which the plants then recycle to make more carbohydrates.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar