A compound made up of the condensation of a small number of monosaccharide units. Cf.:polysaccharide.
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oli·go·sac·cha·ride .äl-i-gō-'sak-ə-.rīd, .ō-li- n a saccharide (as a disaccharide) that contains a known small number of monosaccharide units
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ol·i·go·sac·cha·ride (ol″ĭ-go-sakґə-rīd) a carbohydrate that on hydrolysis yields a small number of monosaccharides (from two to four, or according to some definitions up to ten). Cf. polysaccharide.Medical dictionary. 2011.