codon Hear it!

codon definition

☆ co·don (kō′dän′)

noun

a small group of chemical units, consisting of a sequence of three nucleotides, that codes the incorporation of a specific small group of amino acids into a protein molecule during the synthesis of the protein; codons are present in DNA and RNA

Etymology: cod(e) + -on, as in proton

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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