glucose

noun

glu·​cose ˈglü-ˌkōs 

-ˌkōz

1

: a crystalline sugar C₆H₁₂O₆

specifically : the sweet colorless soluble dextrorotatory form that occurs widely in nature and is the usual form in which carbohydrate is assimilated by animals

2

: a light-colored syrup made from cornstarch

Examples of glucose in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Evidence of this mechanism stretches as far back as 1989, when French metabolic researcher Jean Girard and his colleagues published a paper describing how metformin increased the amount of glucose rats absorbed in their intestines. — Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026

Google’s goal is to highlight the invisible stress the body is experiencing, not to diagnose, treat or directly measure glucose, according to Francis Ho, Google’s lead Pixel Watch product manager. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026

Telemedicine, remote monitoring, continuous glucose systems, on-demand fitness platforms, and nutrition education resources all require fast, reliable connections. — Tanya Akim, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Rebounding with a lot of food in one sitting, which is typical when overly hungry, can produce undesirable spikes in blood glucose. — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, modification of Greek gleukos must, sweet wine; akin to Greek glykys sweet — more at dulcet

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing glucose

• glucose phosphate
• glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

Rhymes for glucose

• arkose
• engross
• faroese
• fructose
• fucose
• gatos
• jocose
• morose
• plateaus
• spinose
• vadose
• adios

Kids Definition

glucose

noun

glu·​cose ˈglü-ˌkōs 

: a sugar that occurs especially in a naturally occurring form that is found in plants, fruits, and blood and is a source of energy for living things

Medical Definition

glucose

noun

glu·​cose ˈglü-ˌkōs, -ˌkōz 

: an optically active sugar C₆H₁₂O₆ that has an aldehydic carbonyl group

especially : the sweet colorless soluble dextrorotatory form that occurs widely in nature and is the usual form in which carbohydrate is assimilated by animals