lactone

[ lak-tohn ]

/ ˈlæk toʊn /

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noun Chemistry.

any of a group of internal esters derived from hydroxy acids.

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Origin of lactone

First recorded in 1840–50; lact- + -one

OTHER WORDS FROM lactone

lac·ton·ic

[lak-ton-ik], /lækˈtɒn ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby lactone

lactoflavin, lactogenic, lactogenic hormone, lactoglobulin, lactometer, lactone, lactonize, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, lactoprotein, lactoscope, lactose

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lactone in a sentence

Another of these substances is ellagic acid C14H6O8, a double lactone of a hexa-hydroxy-diphenyldicarboxylic acid.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for lactone

lactone

/ (ˈlæktəʊn) /

noun

any of a class of organic compounds formed from hydroxy acids and containing the group -C(CO)OC-, where the carbon atoms are part of a ring

Derived forms of lactone

lactonic (lækˈtɒnɪk), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for lactone

lactone

[ lăk′tōn′ ]

Any of various organic esters derived from organic acids by removal of water. Lactones are formed when the carboxyl (COOH) group of the acid reacts with a hydroxyl (OH) group in the same acid, releasing water and causing the carbon atom to join to the hydroxyl's remaining oxygen atom, forming a ring. Vitamin C, the antibiotic erythromycin, and many commercially important substances are lactones.