plural base pairs
: one of the pairs of nucleotide bases on complementary strands of nucleic acid that consist of a purine on one strand joined to a pyrimidine on the other strand by hydrogen bonds holding together the two strands much like the rungs of a ladder and that include adenine linked to thymine in DNA or to uracil in RNA and guanine linked to cytosine in both DNA and RNA
variants
or base-pair
base paired or base-paired; base pairing or base-pairing; base pairs or base-pairs
: to participate in formation of a base pair
adenine base-pairs with thymine
Examples of base pair in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 Sep. 2024
The rate of evolution leading to changes in amylase gene copy number was about 10,000 times faster than that of single DNA base pair changes in the human genome.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 Sep. 2024
At the time, it was considered the largest genome of any animal ever sequenced, with 43 billion base pairs.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024
Most of the genomes that were completed were done using short reads, typically in the area of 100–200 base pairs long.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for base pair 
Noun
This allows scientists to read DNA sequences thousands of base pairs long to accurately capture where repetitive stretches are located.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 Sep. 2024
The rate of evolution leading to changes in amylase gene copy number was about 10,000 times faster than that of single DNA base pair changes in the human genome.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 Sep. 2024
At the time, it was considered the largest genome of any animal ever sequenced, with 43 billion base pairs.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024
Most of the genomes that were completed were done using short reads, typically in the area of 100–200 base pairs long.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for base pair
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'base pair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near base pair
Cite this Entry
“Base pair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/base%20pair. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
base pair
1 of 2 noun
: one of the pairs of nucleotide bases on complementary strands of nucleic acid that consist of a purine on one strand joined to a pyrimidine on the other strand by hydrogen bonds holding together the two strands much like the rungs of a ladder and that include adenine linked to thymine in DNA or to uracil in RNA and guanine linked to cytosine in both DNA and RNA
base pair
2 of 2 intransitive verb
variants
or base-pair
: to participate in formation of a base pair
adenine base pairs with thymine
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