1. any enzyme that catalyzes the splitting of proteins into smaller peptide fractions and amino acids by a process known as proteolysis; [syn: protease, peptidase, proteinase, proteolytic enzyme]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
proteinase
n 1: any enzyme that catalyzes the splitting of proteins into
smaller peptide fractions and amino acids by a process
known as proteolysis [syn: protease, peptidase,
proteinase, proteolytic enzyme]