Adjacent Words

Urea definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

U'REA, n. A substance obtained from urine.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the chief solid component of mammalian urine; synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide and used as fertilizer and in animal feed and in plastics [syn: urea, carbamide]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin, from French urée, from urine Date: 1806 a soluble weakly basic nitrogenous compound CO(NH₂)₂ that is the chief solid component of mammalian urine and an end product of protein decomposition, is synthesized from carbon dioxide and ammonia, and is used especially in synthesis (as of resins and plastics) and in fertilizers and animal rations

Britannica Concise

One of the simplest organic compounds and the first synthesized from inorganic raw materials (see inorganic compound), by Friedrich Wö hler (1800-1882) in 1828. It is the diamide of carbonic acid (H2NCONH2; see amide, carbon dioxide). The chief nitrogenous end product of protein breakdown in mammals and some fishes, it occurs not only in urine but also in blood, bile, milk, and perspiration. It is one of the industrial chemicals produced in largest quantities. With its high nitrogen content and low price, it is a major agricultural fertilizer and animal-feed ingredient. It is also used to make urea-formaldehyde plastics (incl. foamed plastics; see polyurethanes), as well as to synthesize barbiturates, as a stabilizer in explosives, and in adhesives, hydrocarbon processing, and flameproofing.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Biochem. a soluble colourless crystalline nitrogenous compound contained esp. in the urine of mammals. Derivatives: ureal adj. Etymology: mod.L f. F urée f. Gk ouron urine

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Urea U"re*a, a. [NL. See Urine.] (Physiol. Chem.) A very soluble crystalline body which is the chief constituent of the urine in mammals and some other animals. It is also present in small quantity in blood, serous fluids, lymph, the liver, etc. Note: It is the main product of the regressive metamorphosis (katabolism) of proteid matter in the body, and is excreted daily to the amount of about 500 grains by a man of average weight. Chemically it is carbamide, CO(NH2)2, and when heated with strong acids or alkalies is decomposed into carbonic acid and ammonia. It unites with acids to form salts, as nitrate of urea, and it can be made synthetically from ammonium cyanate, with which it is isomeric. Urea ferment, a soluble ferment formed by certain bacteria, which, however, yield the ferment from the body of their cells only after they have been killed by alcohol. It causes urea to take up water and decompose into carbonic acid and ammonia. Many different bacteria possess this property, especially Bacterium ure[ae] and Micrococcus ure[ae], which are found abundantly in urines undergoing alkaline fermentation.