Organic Chemical
fatty acid Audio
fat·ty ac·id [ fa-tee a-sid ]
Subclass of:
Lipids
Definitions related to fatty acids:
  • A major component of fats that are used by the body for energy and tissue development.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Monobasic, aliphatic acids with varying chain lengths between 6 and 30. Fatty acids are a major constituent in all fats and can be either saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated. Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are synthesized by the body, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids are not and must be obtained in the diet.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid; chemically R COOH where R is an aliphatic moiety; the common fatty acids of biological origin are linear chains with an even number of carbon atoms.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Components of fats that can be used for energy by cells.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
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