vitamin B12

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noun

a deep-red crystalline, water-soluble solid, C63H88N14O14PCo, obtained from liver, milk, eggs, fish, oysters, and clams: a deficiency causes pernicious anemia and disorders of the nervous system.

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Also called cyanocobalamin, cobalamin, extrinsic factor.

Origin of vitamin B12

First recorded in 1945–50

Words nearby vitamin B12

vitamin A2, vitamin A acid, vitamin A aldehyde, vitamin B, vitamin B1, vitamin B12, vitamin B12 neuropathy, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B9

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use vitamin B12 in a sentence

I take calcium and vitamin D supplements, but prescription medications are generally only for women in menopause.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This at-home blood test kit gives a full reading of antioxidant, fatty acid, or vitamin panels.
Nothing Says I Love You Like Data|The Daily Beast|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The irony in it all is that our bodies need, if not crave, Vitamin D—and more than a chewable tablet.
Is the Facekini the Future of Beachwear?|Justin Jones|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The summertime staple is also a good source of potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C. 2.
10 Ways to Stay Hydrated (That Aren’t Water)|DailyBurn|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At 96 percent water, cukes have no saturated fat or cholesterol, and are very high in vitamin K, vitamin B6 and iron.
10 Ways to Stay Hydrated (That Aren’t Water)|DailyBurn|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They carefully devised vitamin-free, protein-free, mineral-free diets that tasted like library paste and smelled worse.
The Coffin Cure|Alan Edward Nourse
Digestibility, as well as protein, mineral and vitamin requirements, must also be considered.
How to Live|Irving Fisher and Eugene Fisk
Vitamin B complex, vitamin C—and, finally, half a dozen highly questionable contraceptive pills?
Inside John Barth|William W. Stuart
The essential element of foods is the vitamin, a nitrogenous substance of indeterminate nature.
The Goat-gland Transplantation|Sydney B. Flower
Moreover, he had isolated a vitamin in this protein not found in any of man's present foods.
Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung|Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for vitamin B12

vitamin B12

noun

another name for cyanocobalamin

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

Medical definitions for vitamin B12

vitamin B12

A complex compound containing cobalt, found especially in liver and widely used to treat pernicious anemia.antipernicious anemia factor cobalamin cyanocobalamin extrinsic factor

Scientific definitions for vitamin B12

vitamin B12

A water-soluble, complex organic compound containing cobalt, found especially in meat, liver, eggs, milk, and milk products. Vitamin B12 is necessary for the synthesis of DNA by the body, for the production of blood cells, and for maintaining the health of nerves. A deficiency of vitamin B12 in the diet results in pernicious anemia. Also called cobalamin cyanocobalamin