fat
Definition
adjective
- big and round in the bodyExample You ought to eat less – you’re getting too fat.(Note fatter – fattest)
noun
- a white oily substance in the body, which stores energy and protects the body against cold
- a type of food which supplies protein and Vitamins A and D, especially that part of meat which is white, and solid substances like lard or butter produced from animals and used for cooking, or liquid substances like oilExamples If you don’t like the fat on the meat, cut it off. • Fry the eggs in some fat.(Note Fat has no plural when it means the substance; the plural fats is used to mean different types of fat. For other terms referring to fats, see also lipid and words beginning with steato-.)
COMMENT Fat is a necessary part of the diet because of the vitamins and energy-giving calories which it contains. Fat in the diet comes from either animal fats or vegetable fats. Animal fats such as butter, fat meat or cream, are saturated fatty acids. It is believed that the intake of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, mainly vegetable fats and oils, and fish oil, in the diet, rather than animal fats, helps keep down the level of cholesterol in the blood and so lessens the risk of atherosclerosis. A low-fat diet does not always help to reduce body weight.