mutate

American  

[myoo-tayt] / ˈmju teɪt /

verb (used with object)

• mutates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mutated,
  past participle,  past
• mutating
  present participle

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)

• mutates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mutated,
  past participle,  past
• mutating
  present participle

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  

/ mjuːˈteɪt /

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo mutation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• mutating
  present
• mutated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mutate
  simple
• mutates
  simple
• have mutated
  perfect
• has mutated
  perfect
• am mutating
  progressive
• are mutating
  progressive
• is mutating
  progressive
• have been mutating
  perfect progressive
• has been mutating
  perfect progressive

Past

• mutated
  simple
• had mutated
  perfect
• was mutating
  progressive
• were mutating
  progressive
• had been mutating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mutate
  simple
• will have mutated
  perfect
• will be mutating
  progressive
• will have been mutating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of mutate

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

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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

See Examples For:

mutate mutates mutated mutating

Influenza viruses constantly mutate and experts have to predict these changes ahead of time.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

When hypergolic propellants burn, they release highly carcinogenic toxins and can cause suffocation and mutate a person’s DNA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

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

I ask, using an editing app to clone, enlarge, flip, skew, and totally mutate his picture until he looks like some bizarre freakoid.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

“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

Then, in its final minute, the song mutates again, this time into reggaeton.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

These antibodies recognize parts of the virus that remain consistent even as it mutates, making them especially valuable for vaccine research.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 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 fact that the virus mutates rapidly means that vaccines for it will be very difficult to develop.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

In high risk MDS, genetically mutated stem cells lose the ability to produce the healthy blood cells required to carry oxygen, form clots, and fight infections.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Even the endings feel like save points, with Alice respawning at the start of each consecutive movie with another mutated monkey on her back.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

A patient’s tumor is surgically removed and then sequenced, allowing researchers to figure out which mutated proteins are expressed on the cancer cells.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Flu hit early last winter, with a new mutated version of the virus circulating - a seasonal influenza called subclade K or Super-K.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Poxies crept toward us, mutated to the point they barely resembled anything human.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

It emerges from millions of online users, evolving collectively, mutating at breakneck speed and often disappearing as quickly as it appears.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Can some mutating DNA be the catalyst for a happy reunion?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

Successive governments have attempted to ban such groups, yet the problem has persisted with gangs mutating, rebranding and reappearing under new names each electoral cycle.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

Mourning is ever-developing and growing and changing and mutating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

“Well, if it is mutating and if any of us have caught it, let’s hope it gives us a week or two before we lose our wits. Come on. Let’s get moving.”

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

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Related Words

• alter
• modify

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