noun Chemistry.
- any of a class of organic compounds containing the group −CHO, which yields acids when oxidized and alcohols when reduced.
noun
- any organic compound containing the group -CHO. Aldehydes are oxidized to carboxylic acids and take part in many addition reactions
- (modifier) consisting of, containing, or concerned with the group -CHOaldehyde group or radical
first oxidation product of alcohol, 1833, discovered in 1774 by German-born Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786), the name said to have been coined by German chemist Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) from abbreviation of Modern Latin alcohol dehydrogenatum “dehydrogenated alcohol.”
n.
- Any of a class of reactive organic chemical compounds obtained by oxidation of primary alcohols, characterized by the common group CHO, and used in the manufacture of resins, dyes, and organic acids.
- acetaldehyde
- Any of a class of highly reactive organic compounds obtained by oxidation of certain alcohols and containing the group CHO. Aldehydes are used in manufacturing resins, dyes, and organic acids.