noun ·Rare ·Advanced 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 "nucleotide" 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 "nucleotide" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nucleotide" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "nucleotide" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "adenosine triphosphate" 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 "nucleotide", 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.
"With a genome of only 400 million or so nucleotide bases, the pufferfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes, has the smallest known genome of any vertebrate animal. […] But the region of DNA between the landmarks can be a million or more nucleotides long."
"With a genome of only 400 million or so nucleotide bases, the pufferfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes, has the smallest known genome of any vertebrate animal. […] But the region of DNA between the landmarks can be a million or more nucleotides long."
The monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer molecules. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (or nucleobase), which can be either a double-ringed purine or a single-ringed pyrimidine; a five-carbon pentose sugar (deoxyribose in DNA or ribose in RNA); and a phosphate group.
Common synonyms include: adenosine triphosphate, base, building block, dna, energy carrier, energy currency.
With a genome of only 400 million or so nucleotide bases, the pufferfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes, has the smallest known genome of any vertebrate animal. […] But the region of DNA between the landmarks can be a million or more nucleotides long.
Pronounced /ˈn(j)u(ː)kliəˌtaɪd/.
From nucleo- (“relating to the nucleus”) + -ide (“chemical suffix”).