Standard Lemma guide

invertase

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose into glucose and fructose (invert sugar), used by bees to produce honey and in the food industry to soften chocolate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, microbiology, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

Examples

  • 2013, Maria Kamiko Kadowaki, Rite de Cássia Garcia Simão, Jose Luís da Conceição Silva, Clarice Aoki Osaku, Luis Henrique Souza Guimarāes, 1: Biotechnical Advances in Fungal Invertases, Maria de Lourdes T. M. Polizeli, Mahendra Rai (editors), Fungal Enzymes, page 14, The methods used for the immobilization of fungal invertases include adsorption, covalent binding, cross-linking and entrapment (Uzun et al. 2011). Nelson and Griffin (1916) reported that invertase was the first enzyme to be immobilized, and it was bound on charcoal and aluminium hydroxide. Subsequently, mant fungal invertases have been immobilized onto a variety of media [...] .

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose into glucose and fructose

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: saccharase, sucrase

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: disaccharidase

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English invert Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *dwísder. Ancient Greek διά (diá) Ancient Greek δῐᾰ- (dĭă-) Proto-Indo-European *steh2- Proto-Indo-European *stísteh2ti Proto-Hellenic *hístāmi Ancient Greek ῐ̔́στημῐ (hĭ́stēmĭ) Ancient Greek δῐῐ̈́στημῐ (dĭĭ̈́stēmĭ) Ancient Greek δῐᾰ́στᾰσῐς (dĭắstăsĭs) English diastase English -ase English invertase From invert + -ase.