polymerase

noun

an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of new DNA and RNA from an existing strand of DNA or RNA

Roots

polyspoly- · Greek · many merosmer- · Greek · part ase-ase · Greek · enzyme

Synonyms & related words for polymerase

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Words related to polymerase

Explore words related to polymerase — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include transcriptase, exonuclease, replicase, endonuclease, deoxyribonuclease, ligase, nuclease, methylase. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does polymerase come from?

The word polymerase breaks down into 3 roots of Greek origin: poly-, from Greek polys (“many”); mer, from Greek meros (“part”); and -ase, from Greek ase (“enzyme”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.