Phrase guide

hydroxybutyric 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

Either of the isomeric compounds formed from a butyric acid by substituting a hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

Examples

  • alphahydroxybutyric acid - 2-hydroxy-butanoic acid
  • betahydroxybutyric acid - 3-hydroxy-butanoic acid
  • gammahydroxybutyric acid - 4-hydroxy-butanoic acid
  • 2-hydroxy, 2-methylpropanoic acid
  • 3-hydroxy, 2-methylpropanoic acid

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

hydroxy derivative of butyric acid

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: oxybutyric acid

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: butyric acid, butanoic acid

Narrower terms: beta-hydroxybutyric acid

History

Etymology

From hydroxy- + butyric acid.