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Showing results for pyrimidine. Search instead for apyrimidinic.

pyrimidine

American  
[pahy-rim-i-deen, pi-, pir-uh-mi-deen, -din] / paɪˈrɪm ɪˌdin, pɪ-, ˈpɪr ə mɪˌdin, -dɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.
  1. a heterocyclic compound, C 4 H 4 N 2 , that is the basis of several important biochemical substances.

  2. one of several pyrimidine derivatives, especially the bases cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which are fundamental constituents of nucleic acids.


pyrimidine British  
/ paɪˈrɪmɪˌdiːn /

noun

  1. a liquid or crystalline organic compound with a penetrating odour; 1,3-diazine. It is a weakly basic soluble heterocyclic compound and can be prepared from barbituric acid. Formula: C 4 H 4 N 2

  2. Also called: pyrimidine base.  any of a number of similar compounds having a basic structure that is derived from pyrimidine, including cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which are constituents of nucleic acids

"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

pyrimidine Scientific  
/ pī-rĭmĭ-dēn′ /
  1. Any of a group of organic compounds having a single six-member ring in which the first and third atoms are nitrogen and the rest are carbon. Pyrimidines include the bases cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which are components of DNA and RNA. Pyrimidine rings are also components of several larger compounds, such as thiamine and some synthetic barbiturates.


Etymology

Origin of pyrimidine

1880–85; blend of pyridine and imide

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.

See Examples For:

Most of the genes they found that were essential to cell survival in low-glucose tumor environments were also involved in pyrimidine synthesis, a precise biological pathway targeted by many chemotherapies.

From Science Daily Nov. 26, 2024

Researchers say cancer cells need to run out of pyrimidine building blocks, including uridine nucleotides, before the cells will self-destruct.

From Science Daily Nov. 26, 2024

A purine always pairs with a pyrimidine; A pairs with T, and G pairs with C. One turn of the helix has ten base pairs.

From Textbooks Jun. 9, 2022

Only the pairing between a purine and pyrimidine can explain the uniform diameter.

From Textbooks Jun. 9, 2022

Not only did we lack the purine and pyrimidine components, but we had never had the shop put together any phosphorus atoms.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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