nucleoside
noun
nu·cle·o·side
ˈnü-klē-ə-ˌsīd 
ˈnyü-
: a compound (such as guanosine or adenosine) that consists of a purine or pyrimidine base combined with deoxyribose or ribose and is found especially in DNA or RNA
Examples of nucleoside in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What is left then needs to be carried into cancer cells by a nucleoside transporter, and then converted into an anti-cancer metabolite called 3’-dATP.
—
Nick Lavars, New Atlas, 26 Apr. 2025
These carried the building blocks essential to living things: amino acids, lipids, nucleosides, and sugars.
—Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 25 May 2023
But academic researchers found modifying a small part of mRNA called a nucleoside could result in its slipping past the immune system.
—Juliet Chung, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2020
These ring-like nitrogen molecules were known to be a type of nucleoside, the broad term for the structural bases of DNA.
—Patrick Adams, National Geographic, 31 Aug. 2020
The first nucleoside analogues were approved for medicinal use in the 1950s.
—Katherine Seley-Radtke, The Conversation, 6 May 2020
In their newest paper, published in the same journal, the researchers showed that TAP and ribose easily bond when mixed in water, creating molecules known as nucleosides.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2014
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Nick Lavars, New Atlas, 26 Apr. 2025
These carried the building blocks essential to living things: amino acids, lipids, nucleosides, and sugars.
—Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 25 May 2023
But academic researchers found modifying a small part of mRNA called a nucleoside could result in its slipping past the immune system.
—Juliet Chung, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2020
These ring-like nitrogen molecules were known to be a type of nucleoside, the broad term for the structural bases of DNA.
—Patrick Adams, National Geographic, 31 Aug. 2020
The first nucleoside analogues were approved for medicinal use in the 1950s.
—Katherine Seley-Radtke, The Conversation, 6 May 2020
In their newest paper, published in the same journal, the researchers showed that TAP and ribose easily bond when mixed in water, creating molecules known as nucleosides.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2014
Cite this Entry
“Nucleoside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nucleoside. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
nucleoside
noun
nu·cle·o·side
ˈn(y)ü-klē-ə-ˌsīd
: a compound (as guanosine or adenosine) that consists of a purine or pyrimidine base combined with deoxyribose or ribose and is found especially in DNA or RNA compare nucleotide
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