Leucine

//ˈluː.siːn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An essential amino acid, C₆H₁₃NO₂, isomeric with isoleucine, found in most animal proteins; it is essential for growth in children. countable, uncountable

    "Thus, leucine is already being seen as a pharmaconutrient of great relevance for the supplementary feeding of malnourished and frail elderly and for specific subpopulations."

  2. 2
    a white crystalline amino acid occurring in proteins that is essential for nutrition; obtained by the hydrolysis of most dietary proteins wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
amino acidleuleu

Example

More examples

"Thus, leucine is already being seen as a pharmaconutrient of great relevance for the supplementary feeding of malnourished and frail elderly and for specific subpopulations."

Etymology

Derived from Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”) + -ine, equivalent to leuco- + -ine.

Related phrases

N-methylleucineleucine zipperessential amino acid

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