uric acid

noun

: a white odorless and tasteless nearly insoluble acid C₅H₄N₄O₃ that is the chief nitrogenous waste present in the urine especially of birds, reptiles, and insects, is present in small quantity in human urine, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout

Examples of uric acid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gout is an exquisitely painful type of arthritis, which flares when uric acid crystals settle into people’s joints, causing red-hot bouts of severe inflammation. —Peter Ubel, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

Gout is a unique type of arthritis characterized by the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024

Other types of arthritis include gout, where crystals form in the joints due to a build-up of uric acid, and psoriatic arthritis, caused by psoriasis, and lupus, another autoimmune disease. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024

If the animal had been treated with diclofenac in the days before its death, the tainted carrion would cause kidney failure in the vultures, followed by visceral gout, in which uric acid crystallizes across their organs. —Meera Subramanian, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2024

New research shows that centenarians—or people who live to 100 or beyond—may have lower (but not too low) levels of glucose, uric acid, and creatinine in their blood. —Brian Mastroianni, Health, 31 Oct. 2023

The lithium appeared to have a protective effect against the uric acid. —Paul Raeburn, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2010

These typically form when there is an abundance of calcium, oxalate or uric acid in the kidney. —Claire Bugos, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2021

In this study, for example, researchers compared the uric acid levels of people before and after losing weight, finding that people dropped uric acid by 3 points after losing 16lbs. —James Robinson, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

uric acid

noun

: a white odorless nitrogen-containing acid that is present only in small quantities in the urine of mammals but is the chief form in which nitrogen is eliminated from the body especially of birds, reptiles, and insects

Medical Definition

uric acid

noun

: a white odorless nearly insoluble weak acid C₅H₄N₄O₃ that is present in small quantity in mammalian urine as an end product of purine metabolism, is present abundantly in the form of urates in the excreta of most lower vertebrates and invertebrates as the chief nitrogenous waste, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout