FATTY ACID

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fatty acid mean? 

• FATTY ACID (noun)
  The noun FATTY ACID has 1 sense:

1. any of a class of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids that form part of a lipid molecule and can be derived from fat by hydrolysis; fatty acids are simple molecules built around a series of carbon atoms linked together in a chain of 12 to 22 carbon atoms

  Familiarity information: FATTY ACID used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FATTY ACID (noun)

Meaning:

Any of a class of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids that form part of a lipid molecule and can be derived from fat by hydrolysis; fatty acids are simple molecules built around a series of carbon atoms linked together in a chain of 12 to 22 carbon atoms

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("fatty acid" is a kind of...):

carboxylic acid (an organic acid characterized by one or more carboxyl groups)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fatty acid"):

saturated fatty acid (a fatty acid whose carbon chain cannot absorb any more hydrogen atoms; found chiefly in animal fats)

unsaturated fatty acid (a fatty acid whose carbon chain can absorb additional hydrogen atoms)

trans fatty acid (a fatty acid that has been produced by hydrogenating an unsaturated fatty acid (and so changing its shape); found in processed foods such as margarine and fried foods and puddings and commercially baked goods and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils)