Meanings
plural metabolites
- Any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction.
Cannabis and some of its metabolites, for example, persist in the fat stores of the body for several weeks after a single dose.
2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 331 more example
In addition to looking at gene expression, Bozek and her colleagues analyzed levels of metabolites, a diverse group of small molecules that includes sugars, nucleic acids and neurotransmitters. Many metabolites are either necessary for metabolism or produced by it.
2015, Ferris Jabr, How Humans Ended Up With Freakishly Huge Brains Wired
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*me
- Proto-Indo-European*meth₂?
- Ancient Greekμετᾰ́ (metắ)
- Ancient Greekμετα- (meta-)
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷelH-
- Proto-Hellenic*gʷəlnō
- Ancient Greekβάλλω (bállō)
- Ancient Greekμεταβάλλω (metabállō)
- Ancient Greekμετᾰβολή (metăbolḗ)
- Englishmetabolism
- Englishmetabolite
From metabolism + -ite.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian метаболит
- метаболит (metabolit)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Catalan metabòlit
- metabòlitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Chinese Mandarin 代謝產物 /代谢产物, 代謝物 /代谢物
- 代謝產物 /代谢产物 (dàixiè chǎnwù)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
- 代謝物 /代谢物 (dàixièwù)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Danish metabolit
- metabolitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Dutch metaboliet
- metabolietany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Finnish metaboliitti, aineenvaihduntatuote
- metaboliittiany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
- aineenvaihduntatuoteany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
French métabolite
- métaboliteany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
German Metabolit
- Metabolitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Greek μεταβολίτης
- μεταβολίτης (metavolítis)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Icelandic myndefni
- myndefniany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Indonesian metabolit
- metabolitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Malay bahantara
- bahantaraany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Polish metabolit
- metabolitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Portuguese metabólito
- metabólitoany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Russian метаболи́т
- метаболи́т (metabolít)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Spanish metabolito
- metabolitoany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Swedish metabolit
- metabolitany substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Ukrainian метаболіт
- метаболіт (metabolit)any substance produced by, or taking part in, a metabolic reaction
Cite this entry
metabolite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolite
“metabolite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolite. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metabolite,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metabolite.
Source: metabolite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.