genetic fingerprint

British

noun

the pattern of DNA unique to each individual that can be analysed in a sample of blood, saliva, or tissue: used as a means of identification

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Having this “genetic fingerprint” should also make it easier for future studies to track where the disease is being transmitted.

From Scientific American

The C.D.C. is asking doctors to work with public health labs to determine the genetic fingerprint of hard-to-treat Pseudomonas infections in the eye and throughout the body.

From New York Times

They carry the same genetic fingerprint, suggesting that the virus may have been circulating undetected for about a year somewhere in the world.

From New York Times

He had the killer’s genetic fingerprint, and Holes doggedly tracked advances in DNA technology.

From Washington Post

Back in June, also in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, they tried to validate the lab-leak theory by examining the virus’ genetic fingerprint.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023