adenosine

A1D2E1N1O1S1I1N1E1
UK/əˈdɛnə(ʊ)siːn/US/əˈdɛnəˌsin/US/əˈdɛnəsən/US/əˈdinəˌsin/

noun

A nucleoside derived from adenine and ribose, found in striated muscle tissue.

Less commonFirst used 20th c.Scrabble 10Word of the Day · Nov 28, 2022

Meanings

nounadenosine (plural adenosines)

plural adenosines

  1. biochemistryA nucleoside derived from adenine and ribose, found in striated muscle tissue.First known use 20th c.

    Adenosine levels can be quickly righted after a few nights of good sleep, however.

    2022 June 24, Oliver Whang, “The Sleep Debt Collector Is Here”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    3 more examples

    Caffeine acts as an antagonist at receptors in the brain for one of the chemical messengers called adenosine.

    2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 82

    Think of adenosine as a chemical barometer that continuously registers the amount of elapsed time since you woke up this morning.

    2017, Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep, Penguin, published 2018, page 27

    SAM: Readings confirmed. Based on the levels of adenosine in your system, the neural implant is functioning properly.

    2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hyperion

Origin

  1. GermanAdenosin
  2. Englishadenosine

From German Adenosin, corresponding to aden(ine) + (rib)os(e) + -ine.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 腺苷
  • 腺苷 (xiàngān)nucleoside
Czech adenozin
  • adenozinnucleoside
Dutch adenosine
  • adenosinenucleoside
Finnish adenosiini
  • adenosiininucleoside
French adénosine
  • adénosinenucleoside
German Adenosin
  • Adenosinnucleoside
Greek αδενοσίνη
  • αδενοσίνη (adenosíni)nucleoside
Indonesian adenosina
  • adenosinanucleoside
Italian adenosina
  • adenosinanucleoside
Malay adenosina
  • adenosinanucleoside
Persian آدنوزین
  • آدنوزینnucleoside
Polish adenozyna
  • adenozynanucleoside
Portuguese adenosina
  • adenosinanucleoside
Spanish adenosina
  • adenosinanucleoside
Swedish adenosin
  • adenosinnucleoside
Turkish adenozin
  • adenozinnucleoside
Vietnamese ađênôzin
  • ađênôzinnucleoside
Cite this entry
APA

adenosine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adenosine

MLA

“adenosine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adenosine. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adenosine,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adenosine.

Source: adenosine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.