thymine

[ thahy-meen, -min ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a pyrimidine base, C 5 H 6 N 2 O 2 , that is one of the principal components of DNA, in which it is paired with adenine. : T

thymine

/ ˈθaɪmiːn /

noun

1. a white crystalline pyrimidine base found in DNA. Formula: C 5 H 6 N 2 O 2

thymine

/ thī′mēn′ /

1. A pyrimidine base that is a component of DNA. It forms a base pair with adenine. Chemical formula: C 5 H 6 N 2 O 2 .

Word History and Origins

Origin of thymine¹

First recorded in 1890–95; thym(ic) ² + -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of thymine¹

C19: from thymic (see thymus ) + -ine ²

Example Sentences

Nucleotides are composed of three distinctive parts: a sugar molecule, a phosphate group and one of the four nucleobases adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine.

From Science Daily

Further, the team identified small sequences in the reversed code, repeated stretches of adenosine and thymine building blocks, known to be recognized by transcription factors, proteins that bind to DNA to initiate transcription.

From Science Daily

For example, exposure to water can cause a chemical reaction called deamination that changes the nucleotide cytosine such that it appears to be the nucleotide thymine upon analysis.

From Scientific American

The two nucleobases, called cytosine and thymine, newly identified in the meteorites may have eluded detection in previous examinations because they possess a more delicate structure than the other three, the researchers said.

From Reuters

There are different potential ways to store this information in DNA - for example, a zero in binary code could be represented by the bases adenine or cytosine and the one represented by guanine or thymine.

From BBC