Dictionary.com
definitions

complementation

[kom-pluh-muh n-tey-shuh n]
|

noun

complementary distribution.
Genetics. the occurrence of a wild-type phenotype when two closely related, interacting mutant genes are expressed in the same cell.
Grammar.
  1. complement(def 6).
  2. the use of grammatical complements.
cooperation in lowering tariffs to permit the movement of components among different countries when it is more profitable for each country to produce parts of a product than the whole.

RELATED CONTENT

Compliment vs. ComplementCompliment and complement are commonly confused terms because they’re pronounced alike and originally shared some meanings. But over time, they’ve become separate words with entirely different definitions. What does complement mean? Complement with an E is the older of the two terms. Its noun sense has been around in English since the 1300s. The term derives from the Latin complēmentum, meaning “something that completes.” So, that means if …
READ MORE
Running, Jumping, and Playing with GerundsA gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing and functions as a noun or object in a sentence or phrase. Though a gerund may look like a verb, it doesn’t behave like one in a sentence. A gerund can act as the subject of a sentence, as the object of a preposition, or as the object of a verb. When a gerund has …
READ MORE

Nearby words

  1. complementary gene,
  2. complementary hypertrophy,
  3. complementary medicine,
  4. complementary strand,
  5. complementary wavelength,
  6. complemented,
  7. complementizer,
  8. complete,
  9. complete antibody,
  10. complete antigen

Origin of complementation

First recorded in 1935–40; complement + -ation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for complementation

British Dictionary definitions for complementation

complementation

noun

the act or process of forming a complement
genetics the combination of two homologous chromosomes, each with a different recessive mutant gene, in a single cell to produce a normal phenotype. The deficiency of one homologue is supplied by the normal allele of the other
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medicine definitions for complementation

complementation

[kŏm′plə-mən-tā′shən, -mĕn-]

n.

Functional interaction between two defective viruses permitting replication under conditions inhibitory to the single virus.
Interaction between two genetic units, one or both of which are defective, permitting the organism containing these units to function normally, whereas it could not do so if one unit were absent.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.