monosaccharide

American  

[mon-uh-sak-uh-rahyd, -er-id] / ˌmɒn əˈsæk əˌraɪd, -ər ɪd /

Also monosaccharose

noun

Chemistry.

1. a carbohydrate that does not hydrolyze, as glucose, fructose, or ribose, occurring naturally or obtained by the hydrolysis of glycosides or polysaccharides.

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monosaccharide British  

/ -rɪd, ˌmɒnəʊˈsækəˌraɪd /

noun

1. a simple sugar, such as glucose or fructose, that does not hydrolyse to yield other sugars

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monosaccharide Scientific  

/ mŏn′ə-săk′ə-rīd′ /

1. Any of a class of carbohydrates that cannot be broken down to simpler sugars by hydrolysis and that constitute the building blocks of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides consist of at least three carbon atoms, one of which is attached to an oxygen atom to form an aldehyde group (CHO) or a ketone, and the others of which are each attached to a hydroxyl group (OH). Monosaccharides can occur as chains or rings. Fructose, glucose, and ribose are monosaccharides.

2. Also called simple sugar

3. Compare oligosaccharide polysaccharide See more at aldose ketose

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Etymology

Origin of monosaccharide

First recorded in 1895–1900; mono- + saccharide

Compare meaning

How does monosaccharide compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• monosaccharide vs. polysaccharide
• monosaccharide vs. disaccharide

Example Sentences

Vu also recommended using an invert sugar, which is a liquid mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose.

From Salon

High fructose corn syrup, also used in processed foods, is a mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose.

From Salon

Fructose, a monosaccharide known as "fruit sugar," is a common dietary sugar found naturally in fruit, honey, and processed foods.

From Science Daily

Alliums store their energy in polysaccharides, which are chains of monosaccharides, or simple sugars.

From New York Times

The final key component of Li and colleagues’ system is another hairpin DNA, which contains a complementary sequence to the monosaccharide code and a sequence that can displace the protein code from a double helix.

From Nature

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar