Meanings
nounoligonucleotide (plural oligonucleotides)
plural oligonucleotides
- A short sequence of nucleotides (RNA or DNA), typically with twenty or fewer base pairs.
Synonyms: oligo
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA short sequence of nucleotides (RNA or DNA), typically with twenty or fewer base pairs.
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More synonyms by meaning
noun(biochemistry) a polynucleotide whose molecules contain relatively few nucleotides
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Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekὀλῐ́γος (olĭ́gos)
- Englisholigo-
- Proto-Italic*knuks
- Latinnux
- Latinnucleu
- Englishnucleus
- Englishnucleo-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Englishnucleotide
- Englisholigonucleotide
From oligo- + nucleotide.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan oligonucleòtid
- oligonucleòtida short sequence of nucleotides
Chinese Mandarin 寡核苷酸
- 寡核苷酸 (guǎ hé gān suān)a short sequence of nucleotides
Czech oligonukleotid
- oligonukleotida short sequence of nucleotides
Finnish oligonukleotidi
- oligonukleotidia short sequence of nucleotides
French oligonucléotide
- oligonucléotidea short sequence of nucleotides
Greek ολιγονουκλεοτίδιο
- ολιγονουκλεοτίδιο (oligonoukleotídio)a short sequence of nucleotides
Icelandic fákirni
- fákirnia short sequence of nucleotides
Italian oligonucleotide
- oligonucleotidea short sequence of nucleotides
Portuguese oligonucleotídeo
- oligonucleotídeoa short sequence of nucleotides
Spanish oligonucleótido
- oligonucleótidoa short sequence of nucleotides
Cite this entry
APA
oligonucleotide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oligonucleotide
MLA
“oligonucleotide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oligonucleotide. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oligonucleotide,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oligonucleotide.
Source: oligonucleotide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.