Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

DNA

Pronunciation: /diːɛnˈeɪ/

Translate DNA | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of DNA

noun

[mass noun] Biochemistry
  • deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
  • the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something, especially when regarded as unchangeable:diversity is part of the company’s DNA men just don’t get shopping—it’s not in our DNA

Each molecule of DNA consists of two strands coiled round each other to form a double helix, a structure like a spiral ladder. Each rung of the ladder consists of a pair of chemical groups called bases (of which there are four types), which combine in specific pairs so that the sequence on one strand of the double helix is complementary to that on the other: it is the specific sequence of bases which constitutes the genetic information

DNA in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of DNA in the US English dictionary