Dictionary.com
definitions

palindrome

[pal-in-drohm]
|

noun

a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.
Biochemistry. a region of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides is identical with an inverted sequence in the complementary strand: GAATTC is a palindrome of CTTAAG.

RELATED CONTENT

What may be the longest single palindromic word?
Poor Dan is in a droop. Sit on a potato pan, Otis. What do these sentences have in common? They’re both palindromes. A palindrome is a word, number, sentence, or verse that reads the same backward or forward. It derives from the Greek palin dromo, which means “running back again.” In palindromes, spacing, punctuation, and capitalization are usually ignored. (This is not the same thing as when …
READ MORE
11/11/11: A Rare And Unusual Day
11/11/11 is a much-anticipated day. Obviously, it contains all of the same digits (like 1/1/1, 2/2/2 and so on…), and it is a palindromic date. (That means the numbers are the same backwards and forwards). 11 is a very odd number and has been subject to much interpretation over the ages. According to Yahoo! News, medieval scholars believed that while most numbers had positive and negative …
READ MORE

Origin of palindrome

1620–30; < Greek palíndromos recurring, equivalent to pálin again, back + -dromos running (see -drome)
Related formspa·lin·dro·mist [puh-lin-droh-mist] /pəˈlɪn droʊ mɪst/, nounpal·in·drom·ic [pal-in-drom-ik, -droh-mik] /ˌpæl ɪnˈdrɒm ɪk, -ˈdroʊ mɪk/, pal·in·drom·i·cal, adjectivepal·in·drom·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for palindrome

Historical Examples of palindrome

British Dictionary definitions for palindrome

palindrome

noun

a word or phrase the letters of which, when taken in reverse order, give the same word or phrase, such as able was I ere I saw Elba
Derived Formspalindromic (ˌpælɪnˈdrɒmɪk), adjective

Word Origin for palindrome

C17: from Greek palindromos running back again, from palin again + -drome
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
Word Origin and History for palindrome
n.

"line that reads the same backward and forward," 1620s, from Greek palindromos "a recurrence," literally "a running back," from palin "again, back" (from PIE root *kwel- "move round," with notion of "revolving; see cycle (n.)) + dromos "a running" (see dromedary). Related: Palindromic.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for palindrome

palindrome

[păl′ĭn-drōm′]

n.

A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand.
Related formspal′in•dro′mic (-drō′mĭk, -drŏm′ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.