urea

[ yoo-ree-uh, yoor-ee-uh ]

noun

Biochemistry. a compound, CO(NH2)2, occurring in urine and other body fluids as a product of protein metabolism.
Chemistry. a water-soluble powder form of this compound, obtained by the reaction of liquid ammonia and liquid carbon dioxide: used as a fertilizer, animal feed, in the synthesis of plastics, resins, and barbiturates, and in medicine as a diuretic and in the diagnosis of kidney function.

Origin of urea

1800–10; <New Latin <French urée; ultimately <Greek oûron urine or oureîn to urinate; see uro-¹

Also called carbamide.

Other words from urea

u·re·al, u·re·ic, adjective

Words Nearby urea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use urea in a sentence

Some gut microbes salvage nitrogen from urea and use it to make amino acids.
Gut microbes help some squirrels stay strong during hibernation | Erin Garcia de Jesús | January 27, 2022 | Science News
Typically, the breakdown of proteins eventually creates urea, a nitrogen-containing chemical that gets excreted.
These Arctic squirrels recycle bits of their own bodies to survive winter | Carolyn Wilke | December 16, 2020 | Science News
Compared with two other superplasticizers used in construction projects on Earth, “the urea worked very well,” Kjøniksen reports.
Astronauts may be able to make cement with their own pee | Lisa Grossman | June 16, 2020 | Science News For Students
Other factors being equal, the amount of urea indicates the activity of metabolism.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
Crystals of urea nitrate or oxalate (Fig. 19) will soon appear and can be recognized with the microscope.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd

The urea was not increased and the relation of urea to total nitrogen remained the same.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2 | Various
No urea escapes by the skin, but many acids (probably fatty ones) are liberated by that organ.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I | Arnold Cooley
This remedy was thought to convert uric acid into urea, and to so help elimination.
Scientific American Supplement No. 299 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for urea

urea

/ (ˈjʊərɪə) /

noun

a white water-soluble crystalline compound with a saline taste and often an odour of ammonia, produced by protein metabolism and excreted in urine. A synthetic form is used as a fertilizer, animal feed, and in the manufacture of synthetic resins. Formula: CO(NH 2) 2: Also called: carbamide

Origin of urea

C19: from New Latin, from French urée, from Greek ouron urine

Derived forms of urea

ureal or ureic, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for urea

urea

[ yu-rē′ə ]

The chief nitrogen-containing waste product excreted in the urine of mammals and some fish. It is the final nitrogenous product in the breakdown of proteins by the body, during which amino groups (NH2) are removed from amino acids and converted into ammonium ions (NH4), which are toxic at high concentrations. The liver then converts the ammonium ions into urea. Urea is also made artificially for use in fertilizers and medicine. Chemical formula: CON2H4.

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