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isomerase

American

[ahy-som-uh-reys, -reyz] / aɪˈsɒm əˌreɪs, -ˌreɪz /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a class of enzymes that catalyze reactions involving intramolecular rearrangements.

isomerase British

/ aɪˈsɒməreɪs /

noun

any enzyme that catalyses the conversion of one isomeric form of a compound to another

"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 isomerase

First recorded in 1940–45; isomer + -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.

Another enzyme produced by the bacteria, known as arabinose isomerase, then converts the galactose into tagatose.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

In the second step of glycolysis, an isomerase converts glucose-6-phosphate into one of its isomers, fructose-6-phosphate.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

How does xylose isomerase cause D. melanogaster to slow down?

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

The authors administered trehalose to flies that lacked gut bacteria and had been provided with xylose isomerase, and report that the trehalose treatment caused the flies’ walking speed to increase.

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

In the next step of the first phase of glycolysis, the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate isomerase converts glucose-6-phosphate into fructose-6-phosphate.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

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