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messenger RNA

American

noun

Genetics.

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

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

"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

messenger RNA Scientific

/ mĕs′ən-jər /

See under RNA

Etymology

Origin of messenger RNA

First recorded in 1960–65

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.

An mRNA vaccine uses messenger RNA to get your cells to make a piece of a virus that is harmless.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

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

The messenger RNA was neither an inhabitant of heaven nor of hell—but a professional go-between.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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