Amide
![Structures of three kinds of amides: an organic amide, a sulfonamide, and a phosphoramide.](/Images/godic/202412/19/Amide_types.svg1415.png")
![Amides possess a conjugated system spread over the O, C and N atoms, consisting of molecular orbitals occupied by delocalized electrons. One of the π molecular orbitals in formamide is shown above.](/Images/godic/202412/19/Formamide-MO-3D-balls1415.png")
![](/Images/godic/202412/19/Chapman_rearrangement.svg1415.png")
![](/Images/godic/202412/19/DehydrogenativeAmidation.svg1416.png")
An amide (/ˈæmaɪd/ or /ˈæmɪd/ or /ˈeɪmaɪd/), also known as an acid amide, is a compound with the functional group RnE(O)xNR′2 (R and R′ refer to H or organic groups). Most common are carboxamides (organic amides) (n = 1, E = C, x = 1), but many other important types of amides are known including phosphoramides (n = 2, E = P, x = 1 and many related formulas) and sulfonamides (E = S, x = 2). The term amide refers both to classes of compounds and to the functional group (RnE(O)xNR′2) within those compounds.