mutate
verb (used with object)
to change; alter.
mutates
-
present tense formof mutate (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
“It’s a virus that mutates and against which people must be immunized over and over again.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Most of the time the virus drifts along making minor changes and then every so often there is a sudden abrupt shift as the virus mutates substantially.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, mutates often, learning to better transmit itself from person to person and evade immunity created by vaccinations and previous infections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2025
HIV is genetically diverse making the virus difficult to target with a vaccine, but bNAbs may overcome that hurdle because they bind to parts of the virus that remain constant even when it mutates.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2024
The fact that the virus mutates rapidly means that vaccines for it will be very difficult to develop.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
