name, noun, phrase, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dna" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dna" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dna" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "dna" is acting as name, noun, phrase, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "deoxyribonucleic acid" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Before publishing a sentence with "dna", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
"Among the various fractions isolated was one presumed to contain only desoxyribosenucleic acid (DNA). Because of certain speculations on the role of nucleic acids in protein synthesis it was necessary to measure and compare the rate of phosphate entry into DNA with that in other fractions of yeast phosphate."
"These ingredients in a company's DNA mean that [the] company will attract and grow leaders with these qualities."
"The only way we're gonna know is if we DNA him against the spunk in Karen."
"She had her weapons back. She wasn't DNA'd anymore. But she didn't use a weapon. That's not how she did it."
"DNA is a complex chemical that makes up a gene."
Initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid (“a nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction”).
Common synonyms include: deoxyribonucleic acid, allele, allelomorph, altmann theory, anticodon, biotype.
DNA is a complex chemical that makes up a gene.
Pronounced /ˌdiːɛnˈeɪ/.
The noun is an initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid. The verb is derived from the noun.
An initialism of the various terms listed below. The verb sense is derived from noun etymology 2 sense 7.