amino acid Hear it!

amino acid definition

amino acid

  1. any of a large group of organic acids containing a carboxyl group, COOH, and an amino group, NH
  2. any of the 25 amino acids that link together into polypeptide chains to form proteins that are necessary for all life: in general, they are water-soluble, crystalline, amphoteric electrolytes having mirror-image isomeric forms with right and left optical activity: ten of these (essential amino acids) cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be consumed

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.