Monosaccharide

n.

1.

(Chem.) A simple sugar; any of a number of sugars (including the trioses, tetroses, pentoses, hexoses, etc.), not decomposable into simpler sugars by hydrolysis. Specif., as used by some, a hexose. The monosaccharides are all open-chain compounds containing hydroxyl groups and either an aldehyde group or a ketone group.

Noun

1.

monosaccharide - a sugar (like sucrose or fructose) that does not hydrolyse to give other sugars; the simplest group of carbohydrates Synonyms: monosaccharose, simple sugar

aldose, carbohydrate, hexose, ketose, monosaccharose, pentose, saccharide, simple sugar, sugar, tetrose, triose