actin

[ ak-tuh n ]

/ ˈæk tən /

noun Biochemistry.

a globulin that is present in muscle plasma and that in connection with myosin plays an important role in muscle contraction.

Words nearby actin

actant, actg, actg., acth, acth-producing adenoma, actin, actin filament, actin-, actinal, acting, acting area

Origin of actin

1940–45; perhaps act + -in²

Definition for actin (2 of 2)

actin-

variant of actino- before a vowel: actinism.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for actin

I don't know what them skunks think they can do, actin' in this way.
Motor Matt's Daring Rescue|Stanley R. Matthews
"I don't know as I was actin' right, either, to talk as I did," she continued abruptly.
While Caroline Was Growing|Josephine Daskam Bacon
Your Uncle Zoeth and me have been actin' as your pilots for a consider'ble spell.
Mary-'Gusta|Joseph C. Lincoln
I was only actin' the lions and a den of hyenas in them days.
The Corner House Girls at School|Grace Brooks Hill

She ain't never cared for any human bein' but this actin' feller, an' that's 'cause he cares 'bout the other one.
"Persons Unknown"|Virginia Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for actin

actin

/ (ˈæktɪn) /

noun

a protein that participates in many kinds of cell movement, including muscle contraction, during which it interacts with filaments of a second protein, myosin

Word Origin for actin

C20: from act + -in

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

Medicine definitions for actin

actin

[ ăk′tĭn ]

n.

One of the protein components found in muscle, existing as F-actin or G-actin, into which actomyosin can be split and which acts with myosin in muscle contraction.

Science definitions for actin

actin

[ ăk′tĭn ]

A protein found in all eukaryotic cells, forming filaments that make up a main component of the cell's supporting matrix or cytoskeleton. Actin and the protein myosin together make up the contractile units (called sarcomeres) of skeletal muscle fibers.