stop codon
Americannoun
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Any of three codons in a molecule of messenger RNA that do not code for an amino acid and thereby signal the termination of the synthesis of a protein. The three stop codons are UAA, UAG, and UGA, where U is uracil, A is adenine, and G is guanine.
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Also called termination codon
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.
"The UAG codon is like a fork in the road, where it can be interpreted either as a stop codon or as a pyrrolysine residue," Shalvarjian said.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026
Researchers had assumed that these organisms simply reassigned the UAG stop codon to represent pyrrolysine.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026
They swapped out the same stop codon in E. coli, but they added another layer of protection.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 19, 2022
The stop codon is the first step in a series of steps to end translation.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
Silent mutations could result in new characteristics possessed by an offspring when a stop codon is substituted for an amino acid.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
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.
