adenine

noun

ad·​e·​nine ˈa-də-ˌnēn 

: a purine base C₅H₅N₅ that codes hereditary information in the genetic code in DNA and RNA compare cytosine, guanine, thymine, uracil

Examples of adenine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Biology’s four bases—adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G)—encode the instructions that keep life alive. —Andrew Whalen, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025

The deletion of a single DNA base (an adenine) shifts the frame of the three-sequence protein code for the rest of EspW. —Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2025

The metaphor leaps out: Like letters of the alphabet, molecules (the nucleotide bases A, T, C and G, for adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine) are arranged into sequences — words, paragraphs, chapters, perhaps — in every organism, from bacteria to humans. —Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025

The team also detected adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil — all five of the biological nucleobases, or components that make up the genetic code in DNA and RNA. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Adenin, from Greek aden-, adḗn "gland" + German -in -ine entry 2; so called from its presence in glandular tissue — more at adeno-

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing adenine

• flavin adenine dinucleotide
• nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
• nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

Rhymes for adenine

• acrolein
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean
• carnitine

Kids Definition

adenine

noun

ad·​e·​nine ˈad-ᵊn-ēn 

: one of the bases which make up the genetic code of DNA and RNA compare cytosine, guanine, thymine, uracil

Medical Definition

adenine

noun

ad·​e·​nine ˈad-ᵊn-ˌēn 

: a purine base C₅H₅N₅ that codes hereditary information in the genetic code in DNA and RNA compare cytosine, guanine, thymine, uracil