The chemical reactions and pathways resulting in the breakdown of a carbohydrate into pyruvate, with the concomitant production of a small amount of ATP and the reduction of NAD(P) to NAD(P)H. Glycolysis begins with the metabolism of a carbohydrate to generate products that can enter the pathway and ends with the production of pyruvate. Pyruvate may be converted to acetyl-coenzyme A, ethanol, lactate, or other small molecules.

A nearly universal metabolic pathway in which the acetyl group of acetyl coenzyme A is effectively oxidized to two CO2 and four pairs of electrons are transferred to coenzymes. The acetyl group combines with oxaloacetate to form citrate, which undergoes successive transformations to isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, succinate, fumarate, malate, and oxaloacetate again, thus completing the cycle. In eukaryotes the tricarboxylic acid is confined to the mitochondria. See also glyoxylate cycle.