monosaccharide

[ mon-uh-sak-uh-rahyd, -er-id ]

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.

monosaccharide

/ -rɪd; ˌmɒnəʊˈsækəˌraɪd /

noun

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

monosaccharide

/ 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 oligosaccharideSee more at aldose

Word History and Origins

Origin of monosaccharide¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; mono- + saccharide

Example Sentences

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

How NSTs recognize and transport activated monosaccharides, however, is currently unclear.

From Nature

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar