pepsin
Americannoun
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an enzyme, produced in the stomach, that in the presence of hydrochloric acid splits proteins into proteoses and peptones.
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a commercial form of this substance, obtained from the stomachs of hogs, used as a digestive, as a ferment in the manufacture of cheese, etc.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pepsin
1835–45; < Greek péps ( is ) digestion ( pep-, base of péptein to digest + -sis -sis ) + -in 2
Vocabulary lists containing pepsin
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.
In the stomach, pepsinogen mixes with hydrochloric acid to form pepsin, which begins digesting proteins, such as turkey, into smaller chains of amino acids.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The highly acidic environment also kills many microorganisms in the food and, combined with the action of the enzyme pepsin, results in the hydrolysis of protein in the food.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Proteins are broken down by the enzymes pepsin and peptidase, and by hydrochloric acid.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
This protects the chief cells, because pepsinogen does not have the same enzyme functionality of pepsin.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The soft drink had been named for the digestive enzyme pepsin, he sagely told us, and so was suited to the task.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
