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

The mRNA provides the cell with instructions to make molecular machinery that can change a single base in DNA, called an adenine base-editor protein. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026

Scientists have discovered that a sample of the Ryugu asteroid collected by Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft contains the nucleobases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil, the building blocks of DNA and RNA upon which all life is based. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2026

Those rungs are made up of pairs of four different chemical building blocks, called bases — adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine (A,T,C and G). — F.d. Flam, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025

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

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

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

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