stearic acid

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a colorless, waxlike, sparingly water-soluble, odorless solid, C 1 8 H 3 6 O 2 , the most common fatty acid, occurring as the glyceride in tallow and other animal fats and in some animal oils: used chiefly in the manufacture of soaps, stearates, candles, cosmetics, and in medicine in suppositories and pill coatings.

stearic acid

noun

1. a colourless odourless insoluble waxy carboxylic acid used for making candles and suppositories; octadecanoic acid. Formula: CH 3 (CH 2 ) 16 COOH See also stearin

stearic acid

/ stē-ăr′ĭk,stîr′ĭk /

1. A colorless, odorless, waxlike fatty acid occurring in animal and vegetable fats and used in making soaps, candles, lubricants, and other products. Chemical formula: C 18 H 36 O 2 .

Word History and Origins

Origin of stearic acid¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Dark chocolate is higher in fat than milk chocolate, but much of it is a combination of the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind and stearic acid, a type of saturated fat that doesn’t raise cholesterol.

From Washington Post

But, stearic acid does not increase LDL-cholesterol levels like the other saturated fats.

From Salon

Saturated fats in animal products tend to be comprised of palmitic and stearic acid.

From Salon

To be fair, some saturated fats – such as stearic acid and lauric acid – have recently been shown to have neutral effects on blood cholesterol levels.

From US News

The team had begun by cloning the native genes that allow E. coli to soak up stearic acid in the gut.

From The New Yorker