: a crystalline dextrorotatory fermentable sugar C12H22O11 formed especially from starch by amylase
Examples of maltose in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To create a smoother, creamier product, many commercial oat milk products are made with amylase enzymes, which break down the starch in oats into simpler sugars, like maltose.
—
Jillian Kubala, Health, 19 Aug. 2025
Each is sealed off by a dissolvable barrier made from lactose, maltose, and a pH-sensitive polymer that shields it from stomach acid and dissolves only in a more alkaline environment.
—Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 2 May 2025
Look for and avoid ingredients like sugar, maltose, and corn syrup.
—Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 6 Jan. 2025
Sugars like fructose, sucrose, and dietary glucose are found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, while maltose is found in many grains and lactose is found in dairy products, per Harvard Medical School.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
So Smith and company make a wort, or beer base, that’s low in maltose and high in the other sugars.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2024
Meanwhile, the females seem to be developing changes in their saliva that make the process of turning maltose or maltotriose into glucose even slower.
—Popsci Staff, Popular Science, 5 July 2023
On the other hand, the maltose from the non-adapted male cockroaches converts to glucose in just a few seconds, per New Scientist’s Christa Lesté-Lasserre.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
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Jillian Kubala, Health, 19 Aug. 2025
Each is sealed off by a dissolvable barrier made from lactose, maltose, and a pH-sensitive polymer that shields it from stomach acid and dissolves only in a more alkaline environment.
—Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 2 May 2025
Look for and avoid ingredients like sugar, maltose, and corn syrup.
—Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 6 Jan. 2025
Sugars like fructose, sucrose, and dietary glucose are found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, while maltose is found in many grains and lactose is found in dairy products, per Harvard Medical School.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
So Smith and company make a wort, or beer base, that’s low in maltose and high in the other sugars.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2024
Meanwhile, the females seem to be developing changes in their saliva that make the process of turning maltose or maltotriose into glucose even slower.
—Popsci Staff, Popular Science, 5 July 2023
On the other hand, the maltose from the non-adapted male cockroaches converts to glucose in just a few seconds, per New Scientist’s Christa Lesté-Lasserre.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Maltose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maltose. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
maltose
noun
malt·ose
ˈmȯl-ˌtōs 
: a sugar formed especially from starch by the action of enzymes and used in brewing and distilling
Medical Definition
maltose
noun
malt·ose
ˈmȯl-ˌtōs, -ˌtōz
: a crystalline dextrorotatory fermentable disaccharide sugar C12H22O11 formed especially from starch by amylase (as in saliva and malt), as an intermediate reducing product in metabolism, and in brewing and distilling and used chiefly in foods and in biological culture media
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