Dictionary
ami'no ac'id
Biochem.
any of a class of organic compounds that contains at least one amino group, –NH
2, and one carboxyl group, –COOH: the alpha-amino acids, RCH(NH
2)COOH, are the building blocks from which proteins are constructed. Cf.
essential amino acid.Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.