carbohydrate Hear it!

carbohydrate definition

carbo·hy·drate (kär′bō hī′drāt, -bə-)

noun

any of certain organic compounds, including the sugars, starches, and celluloses, which usually have the general formula C(HO): carbohydrates are subdivided into monosaccharides, disaccharides, etc., and form an important class of foods in animal nutrition, supplying energy to the body

Etymology: carbo- + hydrate

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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