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Enzyme - 8 dictionary results
en⋅zyme
[en-zahym] 
zaɪm
–noun Biochemistry.
| any of various proteins, as pepsin, originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances by catalytic action, as in digestion. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Enzyme
| en·zyme (ěn'zīm) n. Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts. [German Enzym, from Medieval Greek enzūmos, leavened : Greek en-, in; see en-2 + Greek zūmē, leaven, yeast.] en'zy·mat'ic (-zə-māt'ĭk), en·zy'mic (-zī'mĭk, -zĭm'ĭk) adj., en'zy·mat'i·cal·ly, en·zy'mi·cal·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Enzyme
En"zyme\, n. [Pref. en- (Gr. ? in) + Gr. ? leaven.] (Physiol. Chem.) An unorganized or unformed ferment, in distinction from an organized or living ferment; a soluble, or chemical, ferment. Ptyalin, pepsin, diastase, and rennet are good examples of enzymes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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enzyme [(en-zeyem)]
A protein molecule that helps other organic molecules enter into chemical reactions with one another but is itself unaffected by these reactions. In other words, enzymes act as catalysts for organic biochemical reactions.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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enzyme
1881, as a biochemical term, from Ger. Enzym, coined 1878 by Ger. physiologist Wilhelm Kühne (1837-1900), from Gk. enzymos "leavened," from en- "in" + zyme "leaven."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: en·zyme
Pronunciation: 'en-"zIm
Function: noun
: any of numerous complex proteins that are produced by living cells and catalyze specificbiochemical reactions at body temperatures
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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enzyme en·zyme (ěn'zīm)
n.
Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as specialized catalysts for biochemical reactions.
en'zy·mat'ic (-zə-māt'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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enzyme (ěn'zīm) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) Any of numerous proteins produced in living cells that accelerate or catalyze the metabolic processes of an organism. Enzymes are usually very selective in the molecules that they act upon, called substrates, often reacting with only a single substrate. The substrate binds to the enzyme at a location called the active site just before the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme takes place. Enzymes can speed up chemical reactions by up to a millionfold, but only function within a narrow temperature and pH range, outside of which they can lose their structure and become denatured. Enzymes are involved in such processes as the breaking down of the large protein, starch, and fat molecules in food into smaller molecules during digestion, the joining together of nucleotides into strands of DNA, and the addition of a phosphate group to ADP to form ATP. The names of enzymes usually end in the suffix -ase. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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