palindrome

American  

[pal-in-drohm] / ˈpæl ɪnˌdroʊm /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

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palindrome British  

/ ˈpælɪnˌdrəʊm, ˌpælɪnˈdrɒmɪk /

noun

1. 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

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Usage

What is a palindrome? A palindrome is a word or phrase that can be read the same way backward or forward, as with the words redivider, kayak, and civic.Palindromes are most often used to be creative and have fun with words. You might see them in ads to catch your attention or a creative writing teacher might ask the class to write palindromes to help students think more creatively.In biology, a palindrome describes a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that matches a reverse line. The possible nucleotide combinations are A-T and C-G, and the pairs can match up in any order. Sometimes they line up palindromically, as when CCTAGG matches up with a sequence of GGATCC.Example: One of the most famous palindromes is “Never Odd or Even,” which has the same letters backward and forward.

Other Word Forms

• palindromic adjective
• palindromical adjective
• palindromically adverb
• palindromist noun

Etymology

Origin of palindrome

First recorded in 1630–40; from Greek palíndromos “recurring,” equivalent to pálin “back, again” + -dromos “running, race” ( -drome )