fructose

American  

[fruhk-tohs, frook-, frook-] / ˈfrʌk toʊs, ˈfrʊk-, ˈfruk- /

noun

1. Chemistry, Pharmacology. a yellowish to white, crystalline, water-soluble, levorotatory ketose sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , sweeter than sucrose, occurring in invert sugar, honey, and a great many fruits: used in foodstuffs and in medicine chiefly in solution as an intravenous nutrient.

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fructose British  

/ ˈfrʌktəʊs, ˈfrʊk-, -təʊz /

noun

1. Also called: laevulose, fruit sugar. a white crystalline water-soluble sugar occurring in honey and many fruits. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6

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fructose Scientific  

/ frŭk′tōs′ /

1. A simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in honey, many fruits, and some vegetables. Fructose linked to glucose is the structure of table sugar, or sucrose. Fructose is an important source of energy for cellular processes. Chemical formula: C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ .

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Etymology

Origin of fructose

First recorded in 1860–65; fruct- + -ose ²

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Explanation

Fructose is a kind of sugar. You consume fructose every time you eat an apple or a bunch of grapes, or when you stir honey into your tea and take a sip. Fructose is also known as "fruit sugar" because it's present in most types of fruit. Chemically, fructose is a simple or hexose sugar, one with six carbon atoms in it, and it's absorbed directly into your bloodstream when you eat it. It's also one of the very sweetest sugars. The word dates from 1857, from the Latin fructus, or "fruit," and the suffix -ose, used in chemical names of sugars.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fructose

The results revealed that mice with reduced testosterone levels developed heavier livers when they consumed fructose.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

To investigate this connection, a research team from the Graduate School of Agriculture, led by graduate student Hiroki Takahashi and Associate Professor Naoki Harada, examined how reduced testosterone and high fructose intake influence liver health.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

Her expertise stems in part from past health issues including fructose intolerance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Other research has identified fructose as an important contributor to steatotic liver disease, a condition involving excess fat accumulation in the liver that affects about 30% of adults worldwide.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

That’s when Japanese chemists discovered an enzyme that could transform glucose into the much sweeter sugar molecule called fructose.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar

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