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urea

[ yoo-ree-uh, yoor-ee-uh ]

noun

  1. Biochemistry. a compound, CO(NH 2 ) 2 , occurring in urine and other body fluids as a product of protein metabolism.
  2. Chemistry. a water-soluble powder form of this compound, obtained by the reaction of liquid ammonia and liquid carbon dioxide: used as a fertilizer, animal feed, in the synthesis of plastics, resins, and barbiturates, and in medicine as a diuretic and in the diagnosis of kidney function.


urea

/ ˈjʊərɪə /

noun

  1. a white water-soluble crystalline compound with a saline taste and often an odour of ammonia, produced by protein metabolism and excreted in urine. A synthetic form is used as a fertilizer, animal feed, and in the manufacture of synthetic resins. Formula: CO(NH 2 ) 2 Also calledcarbamide
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

urea

/ y-rēə /

  1. The chief nitrogen-containing waste product excreted in the urine of mammals and some fish. It is the final nitrogenous product in the breakdown of proteins by the body, during which amino groups (NH 2 ) are removed from amino acids and converted into ammonium ions (NH 4 ), which are toxic at high concentrations. The liver then converts the ammonium ions into urea. Urea is also made artificially for use in fertilizers and medicine. Chemical formula: CON 2 H 4 .
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Derived Forms

  • uˈreal, adjective
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Other Words From

  • u·real u·reic adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of urea1

1800–10; < New Latin < French urée; ultimately < Greek oûron urine or oureîn to urinate; uro- 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of urea1

C19: from New Latin, from French urée, from Greek ouron urine
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Example Sentences

The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell which filters urea out of the blood.

From BBC

The synthetic, membrane-less droplets contain a very high concentration of the bovine protein BSA to mimic the crowded conditions inside cells, as well as urease, an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of urea into ammonia.

Lately, the academic community has been tackling this issue by integrating the urea oxidation reaction with the hydrogen generation reaction.

More than half of the AOM species have adapted to utilize urea, a widely available organic nitrogen compound that accounts for approximately 40 percent of all nitrogen in fertilizers, as an alternative energy source.

For example, not only are their kidneys larger and thus able to remove more salt from the birds' urea, but their skin is less permeable to water.

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UREurea cycle