enzyme

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enzyme

/ˈɛn.zaɪm/ Canada, US, UK
/ˈen.zɑem/ Australia
[ˈen.zɑe̯m] New Zealand

Rhymes with -aɪm

Where it comes from

From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + ζύμη (zúmē, “leaven”). By surface analysis, en- + zyme.

noun enzymes

countable, uncountable A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
countable, uncountable The protein type specifically.
countable, uncountable Leavened bread, as opposed to azyme.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: protein, phosphatase, enzymic, enzymatic, trandolapril, linked, curing, curative, reimbursement, catalyzed, ferment, proteinase, protease, catalyst, biocatalyst, reductase

Translations

Every language

noun catalytic protein

Español	enzima
한국어	효소 hyoso
日本語	酵素 kōso
中文	酶 méi, 酵素 jiàosù
Português	enzima
Français	enzyme
Deutsch	Enzym
Italiano	enzima
Ελληνικά	ένζυμο énzymo
Русский	ферме́нт fermént, энзи́м enzím
Tiếng Việt	enzim, men tiêu hoá
العربية	إِنْزِيم ʔinzīm
עברית	אנזים

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MLA

"enzyme." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/enzyme. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

enzyme. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/enzyme

Chicago

"enzyme." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/enzyme.

BibTeX

@misc{enzyme_2026,
  title = {enzyme},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/enzyme},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}