ˈalkəˌlȯid noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: German, from alkali + -oid
chemistry : any of a very large group of organic bases containing nitrogen and usually oxygen that occur especially in seed plants for the most part in the form of salts with acids (as citric, oxalic, or sulfuric acid), most of the bases being colorless and well crystallized, bitter tasting, complex in structure with at least one nitrogen atom in a ring (as a pyrrole, quinoline, or indole ring), and optically and biologically active, many of the bases or their salts being used as drugs (as morphine and codeine)
ergot contains a number of closely related alkaloids
• al·ka·loi·dal | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷d ə l adjective