Word.ws English Dictionary

telomere

/ˈtɛləmɪəɹ/

telomere noun: either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome.

telomere: either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome
Image: U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

telomere (plural telomeres)

  1. Either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome.
    • Chromosome ends or telomeres are composed of guanine-rich repeat sequences and associated proteins. A minimum number of repeats is essential for proper telomere function and to avoid sustained activation of DNA damage pathways that may result in replicative senescence or cell death.2004, Peter M. Lansdorp, 11: Telomeres and Telomere Regulation, Robert Paul Lanza (editor), Handbook of Stem Cells, Volume 2: Adult and Fetal Stem Cells, page 127
    • It has been known for some time that when cells divide, causing chromosomes to duplicate, telomeres get shorter. The more a cell divides, then, the shorter the telomeres become.2005, Cara Birrittieri, What Every Woman Should Know about Fertility and Her Biological Clock, page 51

telomere meaning in Hindi and Tamil

telomere in Hindi

either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome
अंत्यलक antyalak

telomere in Tamil

either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome
முனைக்கூறு muṉaikkūṟu, ஈற்றுப்பாத்து īṟṟuppāttu

Forms of telomere

pluraltelomeres

Origin of telomere

From telo- (“end”) + -mere (“part”).

Words formed from telomere

Questions about telomere

What does telomere mean?
Telomere means either of the sequences of DNA at each end of a eukaryotic chromosome.
What is telomere in Hindi?
Telomere in Hindi is अंत्यलक (antyalak). See Telomere meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is telomere?
Telomere is a noun.
How do you pronounce telomere?
Telomere is pronounced /ˈtɛləmɪəɹ/.
What is the plural of telomere?
The plural of telomere is telomeres.

Words near telomere in the dictionary

  1. telomapping
  2. telome
  3. telomer
  4. telomerase
  5. telomerases
  6. telomere
  7. telomeres
  8. telomeric
  9. telomerically
  10. telomerisation
  11. telomerisations

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: telomere (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-VGPaleontologist-telomere.wav.

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