trans fat

noun

: a fat containing trans-fatty acids

Examples of trans fat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most people do not know that this practice makes the oil carcinogenic and filled with harmful trans fats. —Miami Herald, 6 June 2024

What is trans fat and how is it connected to cholesterol? —Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 29 Feb. 2024

Just cutting down on the saturated and trans fats found in meat, dairy, and junk, as well as reducing intake of the dietary cholesterol found mostly in eggs, is unlikely to get most people to the target. —Michael Greger, Fortune Well, 5 Dec. 2023

Foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, alcohol, and refined sugar can also mess with the gut microbiome and trigger inflammatory responses.9 Scientists have long suspected that some fats can trigger immune responses that cause inflammation.10 But not all fats are harmful. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 18 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

trans fat

noun

variants or trans-fat

: an unsaturated fat that contains a trans-fatty acid molecule which has a trans arrangement of double bonds in its hydrocarbon chain and that either occurs naturally in the meat and milk of ruminant animals (such as cows or sheep) or is manufactured by hydrogenating vegetable oil to create a fat that is solid at room temperature (such as margarine and shortening)

Consumption of red meat and trans fats is associated with an increased risk of laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis …

—Linda C. Guidice, The New England Journal of Medicine

Trans fat is created when manufacturers partially hydrogenate liquid oils to make them more solid, more stable, and less greasy-tasting.

—Nutrition Action Health Letter

compare saturated fat