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 second step of glycolysis, an isomerase converts glucose-6-phosphate into one of its isomers, fructose-6-phosphate.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

An isomerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of a molecule into one of its isomers.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

Work remains to be done to fill in the gaps in explaining how xylose isomerase affects the level of trehalose in the fruit fly and the activity of octopamine-producing neurons in the brain.

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

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