enzyme

1. 1.

   any of several complex proteins that are produced by cells and act as catalysts in specific biochemical reactions

   Broaderproteincatalyst

   Narroweradenosine deaminaseamylasecholinesterasecoagulasecollagenasecomplementcatalasecyclooxygenasedecarboxylasede-iodinase

   Partsactive site

Other forms of enzyme

plural

enzymes·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about enzyme

What does enzyme mean?

enzyme means "any of several complex proteins that are produced by cells and act as catalysts in specific biochemical reactions".

How many syllables are in enzyme?

enzyme has 2 syllables: en-zyme. The stress falls on "en". In IPA it is /ˈɛnˌzaɪm/.

Is enzyme a common word?

enzyme is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.