Warburg effect

noun

The observation that most cancer cells release energy predominantly not through the 'usual' citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria as observed in normal cells, but through a less efficient process of 'anaerobic glycolysis' consisting of a high level of glucose uptake and glycolysis followed by lactic acid fermentation taking place in the cytosol, not the mitochondria, even in the presence of abundant oxygen.

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Meanings

nounWarburg effect (plural Warburg effects)

plural Warburg effects

  1. medicineThe observation that most cancer cells release energy predominantly not through the 'usual' citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria as observed in normal cells, but through a less efficient process of 'anaerobic glycolysis' consisting of a high level of glucose uptake and glycolysis followed by lactic acid fermentation taking place in the cytosol, not the mitochondria, even in the presence of abundant oxygen.

Origin

Named after Otto Heinrich Warburg who first published the observation.

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Cite this entry
APA

Warburg effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Warburg%20effect

MLA

“Warburg effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Warburg%20effect. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Warburg effect,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Warburg%20effect.

Source: Warburg effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.