adipic acid

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A white crystalline dicarboxylic acid, C₆H₁₀O₄, derived from oxidation of various fats, slightly soluble in water and soluble in alcohol and acetone, and used especially in the manufacture of nylon and polyurethane foams.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid (HO.CO.(CH2)4.CO.OH), containing six carbon atoms in a linear chain. It is found in beet juice. It is used in the manufacture of synthetic plastics such as Nylon, as well as other products.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun organic chemistry A white crystalline di-carboxylic acid, C4H8(COOH)2; it has many industrial applications; when condensed with hexamethylene diamine it produces nylon.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a carboxylic acid used in the manufacture of nylon