Hemicellulose
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A mixture of several plant polysaccharides, of smaller molecular weight than cellulose, that are soluble in dilute alkali; they are involved in the manufacture of paper, and are used in the production of furfural and ethanol.
"The changes in texture that occur during ripening and cooking result from changes in the cell-wall materials, in particular the cement carbohydrates. One group is the hemicelluloses, which form strengthening cross-links between celluloses. They are built up from glucose and xylose sugars, and can be partly dissolved and removed from cell walls during cooking."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The changes in texture that occur during ripening and cooking result from changes in the cell-wall materials, in particular the cement carbohydrates. One group is the hemicelluloses, which form strengthening cross-links between celluloses. They are built up from glucose and xylose sugars, and can be partly dissolved and removed from cell walls during cooking."
Etymology
From hemi- (“half”) + cellulose.
Related phrases
More for "hemicellulose"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.