base pair
C2Technical/Scientific
Definition
Meaning
A pair of complementary nucleotide bases (adenine-thymine or guanine-cytosine) that form a connection between two strands of DNA or RNA.
Any two molecules (usually nucleotides) that bind together through specific hydrogen bonding, forming a fundamental unit of genetic information storage and transfer.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is fundamentally a unit of measurement for the length of DNA/RNA sequences (e.g., 'a gene with 1000 base pairs'). It is a countable noun compound.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical or grammatical differences. Spelling differences in related terms (e.g., 'analyse' vs. 'analyze') but not in 'base pair' itself.
Connotations
Purely technical and neutral in both dialects.
Frequency
Exclusively used in scientific and academic contexts with equal frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[The adenine] base pairs [with thymine]. (Verb)A [single] base pair [mutation] can be significant. (Noun modifier)The gene is [1000] base pairs [long]. (Unit of measurement)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used.
Academic
Core term in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and related life sciences.
Everyday
Virtually never used outside of educational or popular science contexts.
Technical
Fundamental unit for describing DNA/RNA length, sequence, mutations, and interactions.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- In DNA replication, adenine will only base-pair with thymine.
- The synthetic oligonucleotide was designed to base-pair with the viral RNA.
American English
- The probe is engineered to base-pair with its complementary target sequence.
- Cytosine preferentially base-pairs with guanine.
adverb
British English
- The two strands bind base-pair by base-pair. (Phrasal use)
American English
- The reaction proceeds base-pair specifically.
adjective
British English
- The scientist identified a critical base-pair sequence in the promoter region.
- They studied the effects of a base-pair substitution on protein folding.
American English
- The team achieved single-base-pair resolution in their gene editing.
- A base-pair mismatch can trigger repair mechanisms.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- DNA is made of four different bases that form specific pairs.
- A change in one base pair can cause a genetic disease.
- The Human Genome Project mapped approximately 3 billion base pairs in human DNA.
- The mutation involved the deletion of three consecutive base pairs in the gene's sequence.
- Researchers used CRISPR to introduce a precise base-pair edit to correct the point mutation.
- The fidelity of DNA polymerase ensures that base pairs are replicated with extremely high accuracy.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of DNA's double helix as a zipper. Each 'tooth' of the zipper is a base, and it only zips up correctly when A meets T and G meets C – these correct matches are the 'base pairs'.
Conceptual Metaphor
LETTER PAIRING (The genetic code as an alphabet; A-T and G-C are the specific, complementary letter pairs that spell out instructions). BUILDING BLOCK (A fundamental, indivisible unit from which the larger structure of DNA is constructed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid a direct calque like '*базисная пара*'. The standard term is 'пара оснований' (pair of bases).
- Do not confuse with 'base' in chemistry (основание) and 'pair' as just any pair. It is a fixed molecular biology term.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as an uncountable noun (e.g., 'much base pair' instead of 'many base pairs').
- Confusing 'base pair' (the connected couple) with just 'base' (the individual component).
- Incorrect verb usage: 'Adenine bases pairs with thymine' (correct: 'Adenine base-pairs with thymine' or 'pairs with').
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is a correct statement about the term 'base pair'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a two-word open compound noun. The hyphenated form 'base-pair' is used when it functions as a verb or a modifier (e.g., base-pair rules).
In DNA, adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C). In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U), so A pairs with U.
Yes, in technical contexts. The verb is usually hyphenated (to base-pair), meaning to form hydrogen bonds as complementary nucleotide bases.
It is the fundamental mechanism of genetic information storage. The specific pairing allows DNA to replicate accurately and for the genetic code in DNA to be transcribed into RNA.