ketone

K5E1T1O1N1E1
UK/ˈkiːtəʊn/US/ˈkitoʊn/

noun

A homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.

“camphor C₁₀H₁₇O”

OriginGerman Keton ← French acétone →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounketone (plural ketones)

plural ketones

  1. chemistryA homologous series of organic molecules whose functional group is an oxygen atom joined to a carbon atom—by a double bond—in a carbon-hydrogen based molecule.

    camphor C₁₀H₁₇O

    2 more examples

    acetone R₁ = R₂ = CH₃

    methyl ethyl ketone R₁ = CH₃, R₂ = C₂H₅

Origin

  1. Frenchacétone“acetone”
  2. GermanKeton
  3. Englishketone

From German Keton, from Aketon (“acetone”), from French acétone (“acetone”). See acetone.

More words from German, French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian кетон
  • кетон (keton)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Catalan cetona
  • cetonaorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Chinese Cantonese 酮
  • 酮 (tung⁴)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Chinese Mandarin 酮
  • 酮 (tóng)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Danish keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Dutch keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Esperanto ketono
  • ketonoorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Finnish ketoni
  • ketoniorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
French cétone
  • cétoneorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
German Keton
  • Ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Greek κετόνη
  • κετόνη (ketóni)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Hungarian keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Irish céatón
  • céatónorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Italian chetone
  • chetoneorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Japanese ケトン
  • ケトン (keton)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Korean 케톤
  • 케톤 (keton)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Malay keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Māori hāparo
  • hāparoorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Norwegian Bokmål keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Persian کتون
  • کتون (keton)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Polish keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Portuguese cetona
  • cetonaorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Romanian cetonă
  • cetonăorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Russian кето́н
  • кето́н (ketón)organic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Slovak ketón
  • ketónorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Spanish cetona, quetona
  • cetonaorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
  • quetonaorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Swedish keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Turkish keton
  • ketonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
Vietnamese xeton, xê-tôn
  • xetonorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group
  • xê-tônorganic chemicals with the >CO functional group

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

KeetonOetken
Cite this entry
APA

ketone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ketone

MLA

“ketone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ketone. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ketone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ketone.

Source: ketone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.