deoxyribonucleic acid

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

• noun DNA.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun a nucleic acid, usually of very high molecular weight, consisting of a linear sequence of monomer units of deoxyribonucleotides, occurring in most organisms in pairs of strands, wound together in the form of a double helix; it is the main component of chromosomes and contains the genetic information which is the basis of heredity, transmitted from parent to progeny, and found in all living organisms except for certain viruses which have RNA as their basic genetic material; -- usually referred to by the acronym DNA.

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

• noun genetics, biochemistry A nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living, see virus); consists of a polymer formed from nucleotides which are shaped into a double helix; it is associated with the transmission of genetic information.

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

• noun (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information