What does "cryptochrome" mean?

Any of several light-sensitive flavoproteins, involved in the circadian rhythms of plants and animals, and possibly also in the sensing of magnetic fields.

Cryptochrome

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of several light-sensitive flavoproteins, involved in the circadian rhythms of plants and animals, and possibly also in the sensing of magnetic fields.

Etymology

From crypto- + -chrome.

Related phrases

circadian rhythm magnetic field

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.