deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, DNA - (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information; "DNA is the king of molecules" --1is a kind ofpolymer --1has parts: gene, cistron, factor; base pair; nucleic acid --1has substances: