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

Example Sentences

Flu hit early this winter with a new mutated version of the virus circulating.

From BBC

Flu has hit a month earlier than normal, with a newly mutated version of the virus circulating.

From BBC

To confirm the identity of these early mutated cells, the team used "spatial transcriptomics" -- a cutting-edge analysis technology that shows "which genes are operating where" simultaneously.

From Science Daily

“Cells mutate all the time. It’s not as unusual as they’d have you believe in the movies.”

From Literature

Experts believe the strain has mutated to “more likely evade” immunity from the current vaccine.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alter
• modify