carboxylic acid

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

carboxylic acid
    n 1: an organic acid characterized by one or more carboxyl
         groups

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

carboxylic acid \carboxylic acid\ n. (Chem.)
   an organic compound whose acidity is due to the presence of a
   {carboxyl gorup}. Monocarboxylic acids (such as acetic acid
   or butyric acid) have one carboxyl group, dicarboxylic acids
   (such as oxalic acid or malonic acid) have two, tricarboxylic
   acids (such as citric acid) have three.
   [PJC]