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Definition of "nucleic acid" []

  • Any of a group of complex compounds found in all living cells and viruses, composed of purines, pyrimidines, carbohydrates, and phosphoric acid. Nucleic acids in the form of DNA and RNA control cellular function and heredity. (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.

Use "nucleic acid" in a sentence
  • "Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid of high molecular weight that synthesizes proteins and acts in cell replication."
  • "They homogenized material from the brain stem area of rats and combined it in a test tube with radioactive dopamine, vitamin C, and a chemical derived from nucleic acid called NAD."
  • "I hurtled up the wonderful ancient staircase (a double helical spiral that curiously is a better model of nucleic acid even than that flashy Watson-Crick mock-up in Cambridge)."
Words like "nucleic acid"