ligand

noun/ˈlɪɡənd/

Frequency rank: #12,417 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

a molecule, ion, or atom that binds to a central metal atom or a biological receptor.

Illustration for the English word “ligand”

Example sentence

The drug molecule acts as a specific ligand that binds tightly to the receptor protein.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 12,401–12,500