Sugar vs. Dextrin — What's the Difference?

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, refers to sucrose, a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose.

Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch or glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic bonds.

A sweet crystalline or powdered substance, white when pure, consisting of sucrose obtained mainly from sugarcane and sugar beets and used in many foods, drinks, and medicines to improve their taste. Also called table sugar.

A soluble gummy substance obtained by hydrolysis of starch, used as a thickening agent and in adhesives and dietary supplements.

Any of a class of water-soluble crystalline carbohydrates, including sucrose and lactose, having a characteristically sweet taste and classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and trisaccharides.

Any of various soluble polysaccharides obtained from starch by the application of heat or acids and used mainly as adhesives and thickening agents.

A unit, such as a lump or cube, in which sugar is dispensed or taken.

(carbohydrate) Any of a range of oligomers of glucose, intermediate in complexity between maltose and starch, produced by the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch; used commercially as adhesives.

(Slang) Sweetheart. Used as a term of endearment.

A translucent, gummy, amorphous substance, nearly tasteless and odorless, used as a substitute for gum, for sizing, etc., and obtained from starch by the action of heat, acids, or diastase. It is of somewhat variable composition, containing several carbohydrates which change easily to their respective varieties of sugar. It is so named from its rotating the plane of polarization to the right; - called also British gum, Alsace gum, gommelin, leiocome, etc. See Achroödextrin, and Erythrodextrin.

To coat, cover, or sweeten with sugar.

To make less distasteful or more appealing.

To form sugar.

To form granules; granulate.

To make sugar or syrup from sugar maple sap. Often used with off.

(uncountable) Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.

(countable) A specific variety of sugar.

Any of various small carbohydrates that are used by organisms to store energy.

(countable) A small serving of this substance (typically about one teaspoon), used to sweeten a drink.

(countable) A term of endearment.

A kiss.

Effeminacy in a male, often implying homosexuality.

Diabetes.

(dated) Anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance, especially in chemistry.

Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words.

Heroin.

Money.

(programming) syntactic sugar.

(transitive) To add sugar to; to sweeten with sugar.

(transitive) To make (something unpleasant) seem less so.

In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the syrup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; with the preposition off.

(entomology) To apply sugar to trees or plants in order to catch moths.

To rewrite (source code) using syntactic sugar.

(transitive) To compliment (a person).

To remove hair using a paste of sugar, water, and lemon juice.

(minced oath) Used in place of shit!

A sweet white (or brownish yellow) crystalline substance, of a sandy or granular consistency, obtained by crystallizing the evaporated juice of certain plants, as the sugar cane, sorghum, beet root, sugar maple, etc. It is used for seasoning and preserving many kinds of food and drink. Ordinary sugar is essentially sucrose. See the Note below.

By extension, anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance; as, sugar of lead (lead acetate), a poisonous white crystalline substance having a sweet taste.

Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words.

In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the sirup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; - with the preposition off.

To impregnate, season, cover, or sprinkle with sugar; to mix sugar with.

To cover with soft words; to disguise by flattery; to compliment; to sweeten; as, to sugar reproof.

A white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative

An essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals; includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances; are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain

Informal terms for money

Sweeten with sugar;