mutate

American  

[myoo-teyt] / ˈmyu teɪt /

verb (used with object)

mutated, mutating

1. to change; alter.

2. Biology. to cause (a gene, cell, etc.) to undergo an alteration of one or more characteristics.

   The disease mutates the retina’s rod cells, and they slowly stop working.

3. Phonetics. to change by umlaut.

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verb (used without object)

mutated, mutating

1. to undergo change.

   It was a gamble to mutate from hard rock frontman to big band crooner, but he went seriously retro and won that bet in a huge way.

2. Biology. (of a gene, cell, etc.) to undergo an alteration of one or more characteristics.

   Drug-resistant cells mutate more quickly and could migrate into surrounding tissue.

mutate British  

/ mjuːˈteɪtɪv, ˈmjuːtətɪv, mjuːˈteɪt /

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo mutation

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Other Word Forms

• mutative adjective
• nonmutative adjective
• unmutated adjective
• unmutative adjective

Etymology

Origin of mutate

First recorded in 1810–20; from Latin mūtātus, past participle of mūtare “to change”; -ate ¹

Explanation

To mutate is to change, especially genetically. When plants mutate, their genes change in a way that makes them look, grow, or reproduce differently. The word mutate comes up most often in biology, to describe the natural — or artificial — process of genetic change. If a scientist alters an animal’s DNA, for example, it mutates. Another way that scientists mutate organisms is in food production: often the genes in a plant are changed in a way that helps it resist insects or weeds, or makes it grow much larger than normal. The Latin root word of mutate is mutare, which simply means "to change."

Example Sentences

Genes can be expressed or activated, or not—more often they’re not; they mutate and can alter their own function and be altered by environmental forces.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

Most efforts to create broader vaccines have aimed to protect against an entire viral family, such as all coronaviruses or all influenza strains, by targeting viral components that mutate less frequently.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

While viruses are technically not alive, it is their nature to mutate and evolve.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2025

The east African nation saw civil war in the 1990s mutate in the 2000s into an Islamist insurgency that still threatens much of the country.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

The aids virus and other emerging viruses are surviving the wreck of the tropical biosphere because they can mutate faster than any changes taking place in their ecosystems.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Related Words

• alter
• modify