mutate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to change; alter.
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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.
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Phonetics. to change by umlaut.
verb (used without object)
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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.
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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.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have mutatedperfect
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has mutatedperfect 3rd person singular
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are mutatingprogressive
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is mutatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been mutatingperfect progressive
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am mutatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been mutatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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mutatessingular 3rd person
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mutatingparticiple
Past
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had mutatedperfect
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were mutatingprogressive plural
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had been mutatingperfect progressive
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mutatedparticiple
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was mutatingprogressive singular
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mutatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of mutate
First recorded in 1810–20; from Latin mūtātus, past participle of mūtare “to change”; see -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."
Vocabulary lists containing mutate
Anything But Typical
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The Hot Zone
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Turtles All the Way Down
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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.
Mutate other DNA and wings disappear, or extra sets of eyes appear in awful places—bulging out on the legs or staring from the ends of antennae.
From Slate • Jul. 13, 2012
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
