active site

noun

: a region on the surface of an enzyme whose shape permits binding only of a specific molecular substrate that then undergoes catalysis

Examples of active site in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Among the active sites are the Fort Buchanan U.S. Army base, the Camp Santiago Joint Training Center — a Puerto Rico National Guard facility — and the Muñiz Air National Guard Base, attached to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, the island's main hub. —Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Akaganeite gripped pollutants most strongly, but lepidocrocite had more chemically active sites that triggered faster bond breaking. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025

At the detention center Alligator Alcatraz remained an active site the morning after Williams’ ruling. —Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2025

Excellent guide/driver combos take guests off-roading on geological Big 5 safari drives to see salt flats, geysers at 14,000 feet, canyons and dunes that rival Jordan and Utah, and a string of volcanoes that make this part of Chile one of the most active sites in the world. —Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 28 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for active site

• actinolite
• adipocyte
• amphibolite
• anorthosite
• anthophyllite
• aragonite
• carbonatite
• cassiterite
• cristobalite
• crocidolite
• diatomite
• dithionite

Medical Definition

active site

noun

: a region especially of a biologically active protein (as an enzyme) where catalytic activity takes place and whose shape permits the binding only of a specific reactant molecule