uric acid

noun

: a white odorless and tasteless nearly insoluble acid C5H4N4O3 that is the chief nitrogenous waste present in the urine especially of birds, reptiles, and insects, is present in small quantity in human urine, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout

Examples of uric acid in a Sentence

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This excess weight can further promote uric acid production and decrease removal from your body.23 14. Lauren Panoff, Mph, Rd, Verywell Health, 4 Nov. 2024 Lithium compounds also dissolve uric acid, which doctors in the mid-1800s believed to be the cause of many illnesses. Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024 Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid building up in the bloodstream over time. Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 27 Sep. 2024 The white part is actually uric acid, a solid form of urine. Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for uric acid 

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of uric acid was in 1800

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Cite this Entry

“Uric acid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uric%20acid. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

uric acid

noun
: a white odorless nitrogen-containing acid that is present only in small quantities in the urine of mammals but is the chief form in which nitrogen is eliminated from the body especially of birds, reptiles, and insects

Medical Definition

uric acid

noun
: a white odorless nearly insoluble weak acid C5H4N4O3 that is present in small quantity in mammalian urine as an end product of purine metabolism, is present abundantly in the form of urates in the excreta of most lower vertebrates and invertebrates as the chief nitrogenous waste, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout

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