Glycolic acid Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a translucent crystalline compound found in sugar cane and sugar beets and unripe grapes
    hydroxyacetic acid; glycollic acid.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Chem.), an organic acid, found naturally in unripe grapes and in the leaves of the wild grape (Ampelopsis quinquefolia), and produced artificially in many ways, as by the oxidation of glycol, whence its name. It is a sirupy, or white crystalline, substance, HO.CH2.CO2H, has the properties both of an alcohol and an acid, and is a type of the hydroxy acids; called also hydroxyacetic acid.

Webster 1913