heavy chain

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noun Immunology.

either of an identical pair of Y-shaped polypeptides that, together with the light chains, constitute the antibody molecule.

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Also called H chain

Origin of heavy chain

First recorded in 1960–65

Words nearby heavy chain

heavy, heavy artillery, heavy-bearded, heavy bomber, heavy breather, heavy chain, heavy chain disease, heavy cream, heavy cruiser, heavy-duty, heavy earth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use heavy chain in a sentence

He was covered in dark, full-body fur, horns curling out of his head, rattling his heavy chains at my sweet little boys.
I brought my kids to the Devil for Christmas. And they’re fine. Right?|Petula Dvorak|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
The clichés about football-obsessed husbands and frustrated wives are pretty heavy-handed.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The running machines are a gloomy chorus of heavy-footed stomping.
How to Survive the New Year ‘Gympocalypse’|Tim Teeman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“JSwipe is currently under heavy load,” flashed across the screen, one night as a friend and I looked at it.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Up till then I was just a dog-assed heavy, one of the posse.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
She stood, in her young purity, at one end of the chain of years, and Mrs. Chepstow—did she really stand at the other?
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Hunter-Weston despite his heavy losses will be advancing to-morrow which should divert pressure from you.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for heavy chain

heavy chain

noun

immunol a type of polypeptide chain present in an immunoglobulin molecule

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

Medical definitions for heavy chain

heavy chain

[ hĕv′ē ]

The larger of the two types of polypeptide chains in immunoglobulins, consisting of an antigen-binding portion having a variable amino acid sequence, and a constant region that defines the antibody class.

Scientific definitions for heavy chain

heavy chain

[ hĕv′ē ]

The larger of the two types of polypeptide chains in an immunoglobulin molecule. A heavy chain consists of an antigen-binding portion having a variable amino acid sequence, and a constant region that is different for each class of imunoglobulin. Each heavy chain is one of a Y-shaped identical pair and is attached along its variable region to a smaller light chain. Compare light chain.