glutamate

«glutamate» in Mova's school dictionary: A natural substance found in many foods such as tomatoes… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (glutamate, glutamates)

meaning for a pupil

1) (science) A natural substance found in many foods such as tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms; it gives the savoury taste called umami. tree →

2) Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a salt of it added to food to make it taste more savoury. tree →

3) (biology) A chemical messenger that nerve cells in the brain use to pass signals. tree →

sense in the lessons

Comes up in science lessons about taste (the five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami) and on food labels. Phrases: monosodium glutamate, MSG, flavour enhancer.

examples

• Parmesan cheese is rich in natural glutamate. tree →
• Monosodium glutamate is often written as MSG on packets. tree →
• Glutamate gives food the savoury taste called umami. tree →
• Ripe tomatoes contain more glutamate than green ones. tree →
• Some crisps have glutamate added as a flavour enhancer. tree →
• Your brain uses glutamate to send messages between nerve cells. tree →

note

Say GLOO-ta-mate. Countable in science (glutamates) but usually uncountable for food. Myth: many people think MSG is harmful; scientific reviews have found it safe for most people in normal amounts. Related: glutamic acid.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «glutamate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.