mutate
[ myoo-teyt ]
/ ˈmyu teɪt /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object), mu·tat·ed, mu·tat·ing.
to change; alter.
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.
Phonetics. to change by umlaut.
verb (used without object), mu·tat·ed, mu·tat·ing.
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.
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of mutate
OTHER WORDS FROM mutate
mu·ta·tive [myoo-tuh-tiv], /ˈmyu tə tɪv/, adjectivenon·mu·ta·tive, adjectiveun·mu·tat·ed, adjectiveun·mu·ta·tive, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mutate in a sentence
On a priori grounds there is no reason why several mutative changes might not take place in the same locus of a chromosome.
Sex-linked Inheritance in Drosophila|Thomas Hunt Morgan
British Dictionary definitions for mutate
mutate
/ (mjuːˈteɪt) /
verb
to undergo or cause to undergo mutation
Derived forms of mutate
mutative (ˈmjuːtətɪv, mjuːˈteɪtɪv), adjectiveWord Origin for mutate
C19: from Latin mūtātus changed, from mūtāre to change
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012