genetics

American  

[juh-net-iks] / dʒəˈnɛt ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. Biology. the science of heredity, dealing with resemblances and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment.

2. the genetic properties and phenomena of an organism.

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genetics British  

/ dʒɪˈnɛtɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the branch of biology concerned with the study of heredity and variation in organisms

2. the genetic features and constitution of a single organism, species, or group

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genetics Scientific  

/ jə-nĕt′ĭks /

1. The scientific study of the principles of heredity and the variation of inherited traits among related organisms.

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genetics Cultural  

1. The study of heredity, or how the characteristics of living things are transmitted from one generation to the next. Every living thing contains the genetic material that makes up DNA molecules. This material is passed on when organisms reproduce. The basic unit of heredity is the gene. (See chromosomes; dominant trait; genetic code; Gregor Mendel; recessive trait; and sexual reproduction.)

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Etymology

Origin of genetics

First recorded in 1905; genetic, -ics; term first proposed in this sense by British biologist William Bateson (1861–1926)

Compare meaning

How does genetics compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• heredity vs. genetics

Example Sentences

In subsequent years, Crick and others worked out the revolutionary implications of this idea, laying the basis for the entire field of modern genetics.

From The Wall Street Journal

Scientists also aim to better understand how individual factors, including chronotype and genetics, may influence how people respond to different eating schedules.

From Science Daily

When the research team began exploring the genetics of attention, Homer1 was not an obvious candidate.

From Science Daily

Yet he has at times eschewed the advice of his doctors and scoffed at the medical community’s widely accepted health recommendations, relying instead on what he calls his “good genetics.”

From The Wall Street Journal

While genetics plays a role, spending more time focusing on things up close—whether reading books or watching YouTube videos—significantly increases the risk.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ancestry
• lineage