Showing results for isomerase. Search instead for isomerases.

isomerase

American

[ahy-som-uh-reys, -reyz] / aɪˈsɒm əˌreɪs, -ˌreɪz /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a class of enzymes that catalyze reactions involving intramolecular rearrangements.

isomerase British

/ aɪˈsɒməreɪs /

noun

any enzyme that catalyses the conversion of one isomeric form of a compound to another

"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

Etymology

Origin of isomerase

First recorded in 1940–45; isomer + -ase

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.

Another enzyme produced by the bacteria, known as arabinose isomerase, then converts the galactose into tagatose.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

In the fifth step, an isomerase transforms the dihydroxyacetone-phosphate into its isomer, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Furthermore, the authors observed that the flies with their natural microbiota and those that had been treated to remove gut bacteria but had received xylose isomerase both walked faster if they received octopamine.

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

Perhaps this means that xylose isomerase decreases the availability of a glucose substrate needed for the synthesis of trehalose.

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

The triosephosphate isomerase enzyme then converts dihydroxyacetone phosphate into a second glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate molecule.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

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