Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An organic compound containing an amino group (NH2), a carboxylic acid group (COOH), and any of various side groups, especially any of the twenty compounds that have the basic formula NH2CHRCOOH, and that link together by peptide bonds to form proteins or that function as chemical messengers and as intermediates in metabolism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun organic chemistry Any organic compound containing both an amino and a carboxylic acid functional group.
  • noun biochemistry Any of the twenty naturally occurring α-amino acids (having the amino, and carboxylic acid groups on the same carbon atom), and a variety of side chains, that combine, via peptide bonds, to form proteins.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See amine and acid.

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