nucleotide

American

[noo-klee-uh-tahyd, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli əˌtaɪd, ˈnyu- /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a group of molecules that, when linked together, form the building blocks of DNA or RNA: composed of a phosphate group, the bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, and a pentose sugar, in RNA the thymine base being replaced by uracil.

nucleotide British

/ ˈnjuːklɪəˌtaɪd /

noun

biochem a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to phosphoric acid. Nucleic acids are made up of long chains (polynucleotides) of such compounds

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

nucleotide Scientific

/ no̅o̅′klē-ə-tīd′ /

Any of a group of organic compounds composed of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides are the basic building blocks of nucleic acids.

Other Word Forms

internucleotide adjective

Etymology

Origin of nucleotide

First recorded in 1905–10; alteration of nucleoside

Compare meaning

How does nucleotide compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

nucleoside vs. nucleotide

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If COMs were embedded in their building materials from the start, then these worlds may also contain the molecular ingredients needed for prebiotic chemistry, including the formation of amino acids and nucleotides.

From Science Daily

"You're taking something in one language and translating it into another, nucleotides to amino acids."

From Science Daily

While they are not themselves components of living cells, they may represent early steps in the chain of reactions that eventually produce amino acids and nucleotides.

From Science Daily

DNA and RNA consist of chains of smaller units known as nucleotides, while proteins are built from amino acids.

From Science Daily

This enables the essential information defining an organism’s core features—represented in the nucleotide sequences of DNA—to be passed down to its offspring.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023