myosin

noun

my·​o·​sin ˈmī-ə-sən 

: a fibrous globulin of muscle that can split ATP and that reacts with actin in muscle contraction to form actomyosin

Examples of myosin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Variations in certain genes, especially myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9) and apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), can increase the risk of kidney failure among communities of color and communities that have fewer resources. —Suchandrima Bhowmik, Health, 30 Sep. 2024

For the study, researchers compared the myosin fibers in facial muscle samples from wolves and domesticated dogs. —People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 6 Apr. 2022

Our muscles contract when a protein called myosin climbs along a microfibre, crunching it more tightly—each step along the fibre costs one ATP. —James Somers, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2022

Academic researchers discovered the roots of that condition, called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in genetic mutations to a protein called myosin. —Jared S. Hopkins, WSJ, 26 July 2022

The muscles of all mammals, humans and dogs included, are made of millions of fibers of a protein called myosin. —NBC News, 5 Apr. 2022

Actin and myosin, the proteins of muscles, permit those bodies to move around. —The Economist, 30 Nov. 2020

Matsuno agrees that myosins are likely causing cell handedness. —Tim Vernimmen, Quanta Magazine, 31 Jan. 2017

Nearly all multicellular animals, except for simple ones like sponges, depend on muscles to move, and all their muscles use some form of contracting fibers in which filaments of the proteins actin and myosin pull past one another to generate force. —Quanta Magazine, 13 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary my- + -ose entry 2 + -in entry 1

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for myosin

• niacin
• actomyosin
• tropomyosin

Kids Definition

myosin

noun

my·​o·​sin ˈmī-ə-sən 

: a protein of muscle that with actin is active in muscular contraction

Medical Definition

myosin

noun

my·​o·​sin ˈmī-ə-sən 

1

: actomyosin

2

: a fibrous globulin of muscle that can split ATP and that reacts with actin to form actomyosin