ketone

noun

ke·​tone ˈkē-ˌtōn 

: any of a class of organic compounds (such as acetone) characterized by a carbonyl group attached to two carbon atoms

ketonic

kē-ˈtä-nik 

adjective

Examples of ketone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

People vary in the length of fasting needed to generate ketones. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 9 Dec. 2024

Acetone is part of a group of molecules called ketones, which play a role in your metabolism. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 14 Aug. 2024

Meanwhile, vast quantities of a precursor chemical for amphetamines, benzyl methyl ketone, or BMK, were exported from various Western countries to the Middle East. —Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Research in humans is needed, but both exercise and fasting cause our muscles to take up glucose from the blood— like Mattson saw in the rodents—prompting the body to switch to burning another type of fuel for energy, called ketones. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Keton, coinage based on Aceton acetone

Note: The German term Keton was apparently the coinage of the chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), who introduced it in Handbuch der organischen Chemie, 1. Band, 4. Auflage (Heidelberg, 1848), p. 40 passim. Gmelin characterized ketones as "Acetone im allgemeinen" ("acetones in general"), acetone being the smallest and simplest ketone.

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ketone

• ketone body
• methyl ethyl ketone

Medical Definition

ketone

noun

ke·​tone ˈkē-ˌtōn 

: an organic compound (as acetone) with a carbonyl group attached to two carbon atoms