Definition of "anticodon" [anticodon]

• A sequence of three adjacent nucleotides in transfer RNA that binds to a corresponding codon in messenger RNA and designates a specific amino acid during protein synthesis. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It also contains a three base region called the anticodon that can base pair to the corresponding three base codon region on mRNA."
• "Put more plainly, 75% of tested amino acids associate with their anticodon (in some cases, along with their codon) in these studies."
• "It is assumed here that this structure is the result of the hierarchical order of the interaction energies of the bases in codon – anticodon recognition."