What does enzyme mean?
Word: Enzyme
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Enzyme means a natural substance made by living things that speeds up changes inside the body, such as breaking down food.
Word origin: Made in 1877 from Greek words meaning in yeast or leavened.
How do you spell enzyme?
Syllables: en - zyme
Tricky part: The second part is spelt with a y, not an i, even though it sounds like eye.
Watch out for: enzym, enzime
Memory tip: Yeast makes bread dough rise with the help of enzymes, so give enzyme the y of yeast.
Enzyme in a sentence
Example 1: Enzymes in our stomach help to digest food.
Example 2: Papaya contains an enzyme that makes tough meat softer.
Example 3: The biology teacher drew a diagram showing how an enzyme works.
Fun Fact
Saliva contains an enzyme called amylase, which starts turning starch into sugar. Chew a piece of plain bread for a long time and it begins to taste slightly sweet.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
mzeyen
a) enemy
b) enzyme
c) frenzy
d) money
Show answer
b) enzyme. Only enzyme uses the z, the y and both e's.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
en_y_e
a) s, m
b) z, m
c) z, l
d) z, n
Show answer
b) z, m. The sound in the middle is a z, and zyme rhymes with time.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) protein
b) enzyem
c) saliva
d) digestion
Show answer
b) enzyem. The last two letters are m then e, the same as at the end of time.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
An enzyme in fresh pineapple juice can stop a jelly from setting properlly.
a) jelly
b) properlly
c) pineapple
d) enzyme
Show answer
b) properlly. Proper + ly gives properly, with a single l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which school subject are you most likely to learn about enzymes?
a) History
b) Civics
c) Science
d) Geography
Show answer
c) Science
2. Why do some washing powders contain enzymes?
a) To make clothes smell of flowers
b) To turn the powder bright blue
c) To break down food and grass stains
d) To stop clothes from shrinking
Show answer
c) To break down food and grass stains
