What is "deoxyribose"

deoxyribose \deoxyribose\ n. a pentose ( C5H10O4) in which one of the hydroxyl groups of ribose has been replaced by a hydrogen. In deoxyribonucleic acids, the deoxyribose is D-2-deoxyribose, in which the hydroxyl at the 2 position of ribose is the one which is replaced by hydrogen.

1931, from deoxy- (because the 2' hydroxyl (-OH) in the sugar is in this case reduced to a hydrogen (H) by loss of an oxygen) + ribose.

n. (context carbohydrate English) A derivative of the pentose sugar ribose in which the 2' hydroxyl (-OH) is reduced to a hydrogen (H); it is a constituent of the nucleotides that comprise the biopolymer, deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

n. a sugar that is a constituent of nucleic acids

Deoxyribose, or more precisely 2-deoxyribose, is a monosaccharide with idealized formula H−(C=O)−(CH)−(CHOH)−H. Its name indicates that it is a deoxy sugar, meaning that it is derived from the sugar ribose by loss of an oxygen atom. Since the pentose sugars arabinose and ribose only differ by the stereochemistry at C2′, 2-deoxyribose and 2-deoxyarabinose are equivalent, although the latter term is rarely used because ribose, not arabinose, is the precursor to deoxyribose.