messenger RNA

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a single-stranded molecule of RNA that is synthesized in the nucleus from a DNA template and then enters the cytoplasm, where its genetic code specifies the amino acid sequence for protein synthesis. mRNA

---

messenger RNA British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: mRNA. biochem a form of RNA, transcribed from a single strand of DNA, that carries genetic information required for protein synthesis from DNA to the ribosomes See also transfer RNA genetic code

---

messenger RNA Scientific  

/ mĕs′ən-jər /

1. See under RNA

---

Etymology

Origin of messenger RNA

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

messenger RNA

The vaccine, called mFlusiva, uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s Covid-19 shots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Using messenger RNA as an intermediary in their actions, the vaccines instruct the body how to manufacture parts of a pathogen that its immune system can recognize and fight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2025

A cell transcribes the ORF sequence into messenger RNA, which travels to cellular factories called ribosomes that assemble amino acid sequences into proteins.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024

Those vaccines worked by delivering a payload in the form of messenger RNA, which are nucleic acids.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024

To make an RNA copy of a gene, the cell used a rather simple transposition: every A,C,T, and G in a gene was copied to an A, C, U, and G in the messenger RNA.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee