metabolite
Americannoun
noun
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A substance produced by metabolism.
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A substance necessary for or taking part in a particular metabolic process. Examples of metabolites are glucose in the metabolism of sugars and starches, amino acids in the biosynthesis of proteins, and squalene in the biosynthesis of cholesterol.
Etymology
Origin of metabolite
First recorded in 1880–85; metabol(ism) + -ite 1
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.
Some were linked to retinoic acid, an active metabolite of vitamin A that is known to promote neuronal differentiation.
From Science Daily • May 27, 2026
Shortly after administration, levels of dopamine and its precursor levodopa increased, along with norepinephrine and its metabolite normetanephrine in the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline network.
From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2026
This naturally occurring and widely studied metabolite, known for its links to healthy aging, was found to restore key brain functions tied to memory that are disrupted in Alzheimer's disease.
From Science Daily • Jan. 25, 2026
The metabolite profiles in these susceptible mice also differed from those observed in a strain of mice naturally resistant to metabolic syndrome.
From Science Daily • Dec. 14, 2025
"Ketogenic diet modulates gut microbiota-brain metabolite axis in a sex-and genotype-specific manner in APOE4 mice" was published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
