monocyclic

American

[mon-uh-sahy-klik, -sik-lik] / ˌmɒn əˈsaɪ klɪk, -ˈsɪk lɪk /

adjective

having one cycle.
Botany. arranged in a single whorl, as the parts of certain flowers.
Chemistry. of or relating to a molecular structure containing one ring.

monocyclic British

/ ˌmɒnəʊˈsaɪklɪk /

adjective

Also: mononuclear. (of a chemical compound) containing only one ring of atoms
(of sepals, petals, or stamens) arranged in a single whorl
(of a plant) having a life cycle that is completed in one year

"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

monocyclic Scientific

/ mŏn′ə-sī′klĭk,-sĭk′lĭk /

Having a single cycle, as of activity or development.
Having a single whorl, as certain flowers and the shells of certain invertebrates.
Having a molecular structure with only one ring. Benzene and toluene are monocyclic molecules.

Other Word Forms

monocycly noun

Etymology

Origin of monocyclic

First recorded in 1880–85; mono- + cyclic

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 centric formula proposed by Bamberger represents naphthalene as formed by the fusion of two benzene rings, this indicates that it is a monocyclic composed of ten atoms of carbon.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023