genome

American  

[jee-nohm] / ˈdʒi noʊm /

Also genom

noun

Genetics.

1. a full set of chromosomes; all the inheritable traits of an organism.

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genome British  

/ ˈdʒiːnəʊm, dʒɪˈnɒmɪk /

noun

1. the full complement of genetic material within an organism

2. all the genes comprising a haploid set of chromosomes

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genome Scientific  

/ jē′nōm /

1. The total amount of genetic information in the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences. The genome of eukaryotes is made up of a single, haploid set of chromosomes that is contained in the nucleus of every cell and exists in two copies in all cells except reproductive and red blood cells. The human genome is made up of about 20,000 to 25,000 genes.

2. Compare proteome

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genome Cultural  

1. The sum of all information contained in the DNA for any living thing. The sequence of all the nucleotides in all the chromosomes of an organism.

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Other Word Forms

• genomic adjective

Etymology

Origin of genome

First recorded in 1925–30; from German Genom, from Gen gene + (Chromos)om chromosome

Example Sentences

Evidence suggests that the human genome encodes more than 200 lectins, which are carbohydrate-binding proteins involved in immune defense and communication between cells.

From Science Daily

This microorganism is frequently used in laboratory studies because it possesses an extremely small genome.

From Science Daily

Instead of protecting cells, the heightened repair activity can harm neurons and destabilize the genome, which may increase the risk of cancer.

From Science Daily

By comparing how these gene clusters are arranged across hundreds of plant genomes and tracing their patterns from ancestral species to modern plants, they were able to detect conserved elements that earlier methods had missed.

From Science Daily

The project also scanned the same ant species examined in a June 2025 study published in the journal Cell and co authored by Economo that generated a set of high quality ant genomes.

From Science Daily