What is "alkoxide"

n. (context organic chemistry English) Any organic compound derived from an alcohol by replacement of a hydrogen atom with a metal or other cationic species.

Enolates are unsaturated alkoxides derived by deprotonation of a C-H bond adjacent to a ketone or aldehyde. The nucleophilic center for simple alkoxides is located on the oxygen, whereas the nucleophilic site on enolates is delocalized onto both carbon and oxygen sites.

Phenoxides are close relatives of the alkoxides, in which the alkyl group is replaced by a derivative of benzene. Phenol is more acidic than a typical alcohol; thus, phenoxides are correspondingly less basic and less nucleophilic than alkoxides. They are, however, often easier to handle, and yield derivatives that are more crystalline than those of the alkoxides.