Ma'anar ƙamus na "deoxyribonucleic acid" (DNA) wani hadadden kwayoyin halitta ne wanda ya ƙunshi umarnin kwayoyin halitta da aka yi amfani da su wajen haɓakawa da aiki na dukan halittu masu rai. Ya ƙunshi nau'ikan nucleotides guda huɗu (adenine, thymine, guanine, da cytosine), waɗanda aka tsara su a cikin wani takamaiman tsari don ɓoye bayanan kwayoyin halitta. Ana samun DNA a cikin tsakiya na sel kuma yana da alhakin watsa bayanan kwayoyin halitta daga tsara zuwa na gaba.