glutamate
noun
glu·ta·mate
ˈglü-tə-ˌmāt 
: a salt or ester of glutamic acid
specifically
: a salt or ester of levorotatory glutamic acid that functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter compare monosodium glutamate
Examples of glutamate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda discovered that glutamate was the source of the savory flavor of seaweed broth and filed a patent to start commercially producing it.
—
Caroline Tien, SELF, 23 Feb. 2026
Osmond and her sisters have variations on a gene that affects receptors for glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter with many functions throughout the brain.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
One day in 1989, Smith’s graduate student Steve Finkbeiner (now a neurologist at the nonprofit Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco) was using the microscope to explore the potentially toxic effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate, the molecule most neurons in the brain use to communicate.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
The torpor phase enables the squirrel to suppress activity within ion channels, reduce the release of glutamate and stabilize its cell membranes.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glutamate
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Caroline Tien, SELF, 23 Feb. 2026
Osmond and her sisters have variations on a gene that affects receptors for glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter with many functions throughout the brain.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
One day in 1989, Smith’s graduate student Steve Finkbeiner (now a neurologist at the nonprofit Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco) was using the microscope to explore the potentially toxic effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate, the molecule most neurons in the brain use to communicate.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
The torpor phase enables the squirrel to suppress activity within ion channels, reduce the release of glutamate and stabilize its cell membranes.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glutamate
Cite this Entry
“Glutamate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glutamate. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
glutamate
noun
glu·ta·mate
ˈglüt-ə-ˌmāt
: a salt or ester of glutamic acid
specifically
: a salt or ester of levorotatory glutamic acid that functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter see monosodium glutamate
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