nucleic acid

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

nucleic acid
    n 1: (biochemistry) any of various macromolecules composed of
         nucleotide chains that are vital constituents of all living
         cells

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

nucleic acid \nu*cle"ic ac"id\ (n[=oo]*kl[=a]"[i^]k [a^]s"[i^]d
   or n[=oo]*kl[=e]"[i^]k), n. (Chem., Biochem., Genetics)
   A natural or synthetic polymer consisting of chains of
   ribonucleotide or deoxyribonucleotide units.

   Note: The nucleic acids are vital constituents of all living
         cells, carrying the genetic information propagated
         between generations, and, while a cell is alive, having
         a continued function in coding for the amino acid
         sequence of proteins being synthesized by the cell. The
         two natural types of nucleic adic are {ribonucleic
         acid} (RNA) and {deoxyribonucleic acid} (DNA).
         [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]