Fats

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  lipid \lip"id\ n. [Gr. li`pos fat.] (Chem., Biochem.)
     Any of a variety of oily or greasy organic compounds found as
     major structural components of living cells; they are
     insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents such as
     alcohol and ether, and include the common {fats},
     {cholesterol} and other steroids, {phospholipids},


     {sphingolipids}, {waxes}, and {fatty acids}; some of the
     lipids, together with proteins and carbohydrates, form an
     essential structural component of living cells, as in the
     cell walls and membranes. The term lipid refers to its
     solubility in nonpolar solvents, and has no significance with
     regard to chemical structure.
  
     Syn: lipide, lipoid.
          [WordNet 1.5]