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base-pairing

American  
[beys-pair-ing] / ˈbeɪsˌpɛər ɪŋ /

noun

Biotechnology.

  1. the process of binding separate DNA sequences by base pairs.

base pairing British  

noun

  1. biochem the hydrogen bonding that occurs between complementary nitrogenous bases in the two polynucleotide chains of a DNA molecule

"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
base-pairing Scientific  

  1. The hydrogen bonding of complementary nitrogen bases, one purine and one pyrimidine. Base-pairing occurs between the complementary strands of a DNA molecule or a DNA/RNA hybrid, and in the complementary pairing of codons and anticodons during the process of translation.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Although U has the same base-pairing properties as does T, it belongs in RNA.

From Nature • Jul. 7, 2020

His colleague Jerry Donohue then pointed out that he was using the molecular structures of the enol isomers of the bases, which cannot form the hydrogen bonds necessary for base-pairing.

From Nature • Oct. 8, 2019

But because of A-T and C-G base-pairing, DNA produces another, subtler type that reads forward down one strand and backward across the other.

From Slate • Jul. 10, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.