ribonuclease

American

[rahy-boh-noo-klee-eys, -eyz, -nyoo-] / ˌraɪ boʊˈnu kliˌeɪs, -ˌeɪz, -ˈnyu- /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of the class of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of RNA.

ribonuclease British

/ -ˌeɪz, ˌraɪbəʊˈnjuːkliːˌeɪs /

noun

any of a group of enzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of RNA

"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

Etymology

Origin of ribonuclease

First recorded in 1940–45; ribonucle(ic acid) + -ase

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.

To amplify the signal of ribosomal RNA, Tosar added compounds known as ribonuclease inhibitors to the samples, which block naturally occurring enzymes from digesting RNA.

From Nature

Harker, having collected a million dollars to solve the structure of the enzyme ribonuclease, was in search of talent, and the offer of six thousand for one year seemed to Odile wonderfully generous.

From Literature

—William H. Stein and Stanford Moore” Stein and Moore were awarded a share of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the complex protein ribonuclease.

From Scientific American

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