nitrogen base

or nitrogenous base

noun

Chemistry, Biochemistry. a nitrogen-containing organic compound that has the chemical properties of a base, especially a pyrimidine or purine: Four nitrogen bases are present in a DNA molecule.

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Words nearby nitrogen base

nitrofuran, nitrofurantoin, nitrogelatin, nitrogen, nitrogen balance, nitrogen base, nitrogen cycle, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen distribution, nitrogen equivalent, nitrogen fixation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Scientific definitions for nitrogen base

nitrogen base

One of the nitrogen-containing purines (adenine or guanine) or pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, or uracil) found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. The bases may be attached to a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA, ribose in RNA) to form nucleosides.The addition of a phosphate to a nucleoside results in the formation of a nucleotide, which is the basic constituent of nucleic acids.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.