n.
In enzymology, a phenomenon in which a compound (an inhibitor), usually similar in structure to the substance on which an enzyme acts (substrate), interacts with the enzyme so that the resulting complex cannot undergo the usual reaction or cannot form the usual product.
The inhibitor may function by combining with the enzyme at the site at which the reaction usually occurs (competitive inhibition) or at another site (noncompetitive inhibition). See also allosteric control , feedback inhibition , repression .