sterol

IPA/ˈster.ɒl/
IPA/ˈster.ɑːl/

sterol — noun

  • sterolsingular
  • sterolsplural

1. A natural compound from the steroid family that occurs in plant and animal cells

1.nounC2
Definition

A natural compound from the steroid family that occurs in plant and animal cells. Compounds in this group are alcohols, and cholesterol is a common example.

Example

Scientists found a new sterol in a sea plant collected near Okinawa.

pattern: sterol in a plant sample

Plant sterols in some cooking oils can help lower cholesterol levels.

collocation: plant sterols / lower cholesterol

Common collocations
  • plant sterol
  • animal sterol
  • sterol content
  • sterol level
  • sterol molecule
  • cell sterol

Grammar Patterns

sterol + in + cells/oils

plant sterol

sterol content

Usage Note

Mainly used in biology, chemistry, and nutrition writing. In everyday language, people usually name a specific sterol, such as cholesterol or a plant sterol, instead of using the general term.

Common Mistakes

Sterol is a medicine athletes take to build muscle.
A sterol is a natural compound found in plant or animal cells.
A sterol is a chemical group in living things, not the same as the drugs people usually call steroids.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Sterol' is the broad scientific name for a family of steroid alcohols found in plants and animals. 'Cholesterol' is one specific sterol, so you can talk about cholesterol in the blood, but not every sterol is cholesterol. 'Phytosterol' is narrower still: it means a plant sterol, often discussed in food and nutrition because some plant sterols can reduce cholesterol absorption. 'Steroid' is the broadest related term here. It names any compound with the same core ring structure, so sterols are one subgroup of steroids, but many steroids are not sterols. Use 'sterol' for the chemical class, 'cholesterol' for the common animal example, and 'phytosterol' when the plant source matters.

sterol ↗cholesterol ↗phytosterolsteroid

Common collocations

Nouns

  • plant sterol
  • sterol content
  • sterol level
  • sterol molecule

Verbs

  • measure sterols
  • identify a sterol

Phrases

  • lower cholesterol with plant sterols

Prepositions

  • sterol in [cells/oils]
  • rich in sterols

Etymology

Scientific English

The word was formed in scientific English from steroid and the chemical ending -ol, which is used for alcohols. The name reflects the fact that sterols belong to the steroid family and contain an alcohol group.

First known use

1913

1913, in the meaning defined above