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Showing results for hypoxanthine. Search instead for pyroxanthin.

hypoxanthine

American  
[hahy-puh-zan-theen, -thin] / ˌhaɪ pəˈzæn θin, -θɪn /

noun

  1. a white, crystalline, almost water-soluble, alkaloidal purine derivative, C 5 H 4 N 4 O, found in animal and vegetable tissues: used chiefly in biochemical research.

hypoxanthine British  
/ -θɪn, ˌhaɪpəˈzænθiːn /

noun

  1. a white or colourless crystalline compound that is a breakdown product of nucleoproteins. Formula: C 5 H 4 N 4 O

"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

Other Word Forms

  • hypoxanthic adjective

Etymology

Origin of hypoxanthine

First recorded in 1835–45; hypo- + xanthine

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.

Xanthine and hypoxanthine occur in animal urine, and also in the tissues of both plants and animals.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred

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.