a colorless, liquid, crystalline organic compound, CHN, the fundamental form of a group of bases, some of which are constituents of nucleic acid
any of several basic substances produced by the decomposition of nucleoproteins and having a pyrimidine-type molecule, as thymine, cytosine, or uracil
Origin:
Ger pyrimidin < pyridin: see pyridine
See pyrimidine in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A single-ringed, crystalline organic base, C4H4N2, that forms uracil, cytosine, or thymine and is the parent compound of many drugs, including the barbiturates.
Any of several organic compounds derived from or structurally related to pyrimidine, especially the nitrogen bases uracil, cytosine, and thymine.