pentose
/ˈpɛntoʊs/
noun
- A type of simple sugar (monosaccharide) that has five carbon atoms in its molecule, found in many plants and in the nucleic acids of living things.
- In biology class, we learned that a pentose is a sugar with five carbon atoms.
- Some fruits contain pentose sugars that are less sweet than table sugar.
- Ribose is a pentose that is a key part of RNA.