amino acids

Cultural  

1. Basic organic molecules (see also organic molecule) that combine to form proteins. Amino acids are made up of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Some examples of amino acids are lysine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan.

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Amino acids are the basic molecular building blocks of proteins.

Example Sentences

Ingest a small but powerful tab of L.A.-grown protein-rich amino acids optimized to enhance their longevity and fat-burning properties, and let the aminos take you away.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Technically speaking, peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as messengers in the body.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

"The ammonia goes into amino acids and nucleotides, both of which tumor cells depend on for growth," said Zong.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

For years, scientists have known that many Archaea can produce pyrrolysine, giving them 21 amino acids to work with instead of the usual 20.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026

A particular sequence of DNA—ACT-GAC-CAC-GTG—was therefore used to build an RNA chain, and the RNA chain was translated into a chain of amino acids, ultimately leading to the construction of a protein.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee