English Dictionary
Definition of “mutation”
mutation (mjuːˈteɪʃən
)
Definitions
noun
- the act or process of mutating; change; alteration
- a change or alteration
- a change in the chromosomes or genes of a cell. When this change occurs in the gametes the structure and development of the resultant offspring may be affected See also inversion (sense 11)
- another word for mutant (sense 1)
- a physical characteristic of an individual resulting from this type of chromosomal change
- phonetics
- (in Germanic languages) another name for umlaut
- (in Celtic languages) a phonetic change in certain initial consonants caused by a preceding word
Alternative Forms
muˈtational adjective muˈtationally adverb
Usage examples
Seeing Coyote's laughter, she demanded, `You're not a mutation.
Tepper, Sheri S., A Plague of Angels (1993)Armed with this mutation rate, researchers can estimate the age of particular polymorphisms.
New Scientist (1998)Currie noted the team largely ignored how the harmful nature of the mutation may have taken hold millions of years ago.
CBC (2004)And take it from me, nobody needs a good all-round mutation more than the human race.
Times, Sunday Times (2002)At some point in time it is inevitable that some chance mutation or some chance change to the environment will exterminate him.
Carroll, John, Humanism - The Wreck of Western Culture (1993)
