Standard Lemma guide

sterol

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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  • /ˈstɛɹɒl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any steroid that contains a hydroxyl group in the 3-position of the A-ring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

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

Examples

  • Sterols are found in all animal and plant tissue and play an important role in hormone chemistry.
  • 1989, Alain Rahier, Pierre Benveniste, 11: Mass Spectral Identification of Phytosterols, W. David Nes, Edward J. Parish (editors), Analysis of Sterols and Other Biologically Significant Steroids, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (Academic Press), page 223, Mass spectrometry (MS) and particularly the combination of mass spectrometry with gas spectrometry (GS/MS) has become an indispensable method for studying plant sterols and their biosynthesis.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of a group of natural steroid alcohols derived from plants or animals; they are waxy insoluble substances

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: steroid alcohol

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: alcohol, steroid

Narrower terms: cholesterol, cholesterin, ergosterol

History

Etymology

From 1913; back-formation from cholesterol.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: esterol — certain kind of steroid
  • Czech: sterol — certain kind of steroid
  • Portuguese: esterol — certain kind of steroid