exon

1
[ ek-son ]

noun
  1. (in Britain) one of four yeomen of the guard who act as commanding officers in the absence of higher authority.

Origin of exon

1
1645–55; earlier exant, for French exempt (spelling altered to show French pronunciation)

Words Nearby exon

Other definitions for exon (2 of 2)

exon2
[ ek-son ]

nounGenetics.
  1. any portion of an interrupted gene that is represented in the RNA product and is translated into protein.

Origin of exon

2
1975–80; ex(pressed sequence) + -on1

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How to use exon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exon (1 of 2)

exon1

/ (ˈɛksɒn) /


noun
  1. British one of the four officers who command the Yeomen of the Guard

Origin of exon

1
C17: a pronunciation spelling of French exempt exempt

British Dictionary definitions for exon (2 of 2)

exon2

/ (ˈɛksɒn) /


noun
  1. any segment of a discontinuous gene the segments of which are separated by introns: Compare intron

Origin of exon

2
C20: from ex- 1 + -on

Derived forms of exon

  • exonic, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for exon

exon

[ ĕksŏn ]


  1. A segment of a gene that contains information used in coding for protein synthesis. Genetic information within genes is discontinuous, split among the exons that encode for messenger RNA and absent from the DNA sequences in between, which are called introns. Genetic splicing, catalyzed by enzymes, results in the final version of messenger RNA, which contains only genetic information from the exons. Compare intron.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for exon

exon

Stretches of DNA in genes that code for proteins. In eukaryotes, exons in a given gene are generally separated from each other by stretches of DNA that do not contain instructions for constructing proteins. (Compare intron.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.