Definition of antimetabolite
: a substance that is structurally similar to a metabolite (such as a coenzyme) and that serves to inhibit a particular cellular function (such as DNA synthesis) by interfering with or blocking the metaboliteʼs action
- From the start [Gertrude] Elion concentrated her research on using purine and pyrimidine antimetabolites to interfere with the synthesis of nucleic acids …
- —Mairin Brennan
