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uric acid
noun
: a white odorless and tasteless nearly insoluble acid C5H4N4O3 that is the chief nitrogenous waste present in the urine especially of birds, reptiles, and insects, is present in small quantity in human urine, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout
Examples of uric acid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If the animal had been treated with diclofenac in the days before its death, the tainted carrion would cause kidney failure in the vultures, followed by visceral gout, in which uric acid crystallizes across their organs.
—Meera Subramanian, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2024
New research shows that centenarians—or people who live to 100 or beyond—may have lower (but not too low) levels of glucose, uric acid, and creatinine in their blood.
—Brian Mastroianni, Health, 31 Oct. 2023
The lithium appeared to have a protective effect against the uric acid.
—Paul Raeburn, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2010
These typically form when there is an abundance of calcium, oxalate or uric acid in the kidney.
—Claire Bugos, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2021
In this study, for example, researchers compared the uric acid levels of people before and after losing weight, finding that people dropped uric acid by 3 points after losing 16lbs.
—James Robinson, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2022
This possible connection was first formally studied in 1950 when, after eating a can of tart or yellow cherries a day, 12 arthritis and gout sufferers displayed lower blood levels of uric acid.
—Jessie Shafer, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2023
Gout flares up because of high uric acid levels in your body.
—Anne Harding, Health, 25 Aug. 2023
In addition to temperature and pH, the bandage's biosensor monitors levels of ammonium, glucose, lactate and uric acid; together these measurements provide information about inflammation, infection and stage of healing.
—Simon Makin, Scientific American, 28 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uric acid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1800, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near uric acid
Cite this Entry
“Uric acid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uric%20acid. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
uric acid
noun
: a white odorless nitrogen-containing acid that is present only in small quantities in the urine of mammals but is the chief form in which nitrogen is eliminated from the body especially of birds, reptiles, and insects
Medical Definition
uric acid
noun
: a white odorless nearly insoluble weak acid C5H4N4O3 that is present in small quantity in mammalian urine as an end product of purine metabolism, is present abundantly in the form of urates in the excreta of most lower vertebrates and invertebrates as the chief nitrogenous waste, and occurs pathologically in renal calculi and the tophi of gout
More from Merriam-Webster on uric acid
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about uric acid
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