Phrase guide

glutamic acid

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A nonessential amino acid, α-amino-glutaric acid, occurring widely in animal and plant tissues; the salt, monosodium glutamate is used as a flavour-enhancing seasoning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, microbiology, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

Examples

  • Near-synonym: E620 (when used as a flavour enhancer)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mul:E620[flavour enhancer]]>

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an amino acid occurring in proteins; important in the nitrogen metabolism of plants; used in monosodium glutamate to enhance the flavor of meats

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: glutaminic acid

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: amino acid, aminoalkanoic acid

History

Etymology

Calque of German Glutaminsäure.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: глутаминова киселина (glutaminova kiselina) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Catalan: àcid glutàmic — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Chinese Cantonese: 穀氨酸 /谷氨酸 (guk1 on1 syun1) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 穀氨酸 /谷氨酸 (gǔ'ānsuān) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 麩胺酸 /麸胺酸 (fū'ānsuān) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Czech: kyselina glutamová — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Danish: glutaminsyre — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Finnish: glutamiinihappo — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • French: acide glutamique — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Galician: ácido glutámico — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • German: Glutaminsäure — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Greek: γλουταμικό οξύ (gloutamikó oxý) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Hungarian: glutaminsav — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Japanese: グルタミン酸 (gurutamin-san) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Kazakh: глутамин қышқылы (glutamin qyşqyly) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Mongolian: глутаминий хүчил (glutaminii xüčil) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Polish: kwas glutaminowy — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Portuguese: ácido glutâmico — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Romanian: acid glutamic — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Russian: глутами́новая кислота́ (glutamínovaja kislotá) — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Slovak: kyselina glutámová — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Spanish: ácido glutámico — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)
  • Swedish: glutaminsyra — the nonessential amino acid (α-amino-glutaric acid)