polysaccharide

[pol-ee-sak-uh-rahyd, -rid]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR polysaccharide ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Chemistry.

a carbohydrate, as starch, inulin, or cellulose, containing more than three monosaccharide units per molecule, the units being attached to each other in the manner of acetals, and therefore capable of hydrolysis by acids or enzymes to monosaccharides.

Also pol·y·sac·cha·rose

[pol-ee-sak-uh-rohs] /ˌpɒl iˈsæk əˌroʊs/.

Origin of polysaccharide

First recorded in 1890–95; poly- + saccharide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for polysaccharide

carbohydrate, sugar, starch, lactose, glucose, cellulose, glycogen, galactose, monosaccharide, disaccharide, sucrose, maltose, fructose, dextrose, dextrin

Examples from the Web for polysaccharide

Historical Examples of polysaccharide

It is a constituent of sucrose, of raffinose, and of the polysaccharide inulin, from which it may be obtained by hydrolysis.
The Chemistry of Plant Life
Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

British Dictionary definitions for polysaccharide

polysaccharide

polysaccharose (ˌpɒlɪˈsækəˌrəʊz, -ˌrəʊs)

noun

any one of a class of carbohydrates whose molecules contain linked monosaccharide units: includes starch, inulin, and cellulose. General formula: (C 6 H 10 O 5) nSee also oligosaccharide

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

polysaccharide in Medicine

polysaccharide

[pŏl′ē-săk′ə-rīd′]

n.

Any of a class of carbohydrates, such as starch and cellulose, consisting of a number of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds.glycan

polysaccharide in Science

polysaccharide

[pŏl′ē-săk′ə-rīd′]

Any of a class of carbohydrates that are made of long chains of simple carbohydrates (called monosaccharides). Starch and cellulose are polysaccharides. Compare monosaccharide oligosaccharide.