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self-replicate

British  

verb

  1. (intr) (of a computer virus, etc) to reproduce itself

"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

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.

See Examples For:

AI models are increasingly exhibiting some of the capabilities required to self-replicate across the internet, controlled lab tests suggested.

From BBC Dec. 18, 2025

This ability to self-replicate makes these misfolded proteins infectious, which has enormous implications for public health.

From Science Daily May 15, 2024

Blending fact and fiction, Chilean novelist Benjamin Labatut's century-spanning history of the rise of AI explores the minds of the scientists who dreamed of machines able to learn, evolve and self-replicate without human guidance.

From Scientific American Oct. 1, 2023

As argued by John von Neumann in 1939, the number of such devices could increase exponentially with time if they self-replicate, a quality enabled by 3D printing and AI technologies.

From Salon Oct. 9, 2022

It’s the result of new research showing that microscopic life-forms made of frogs’ stem cells can self-replicate in a way not seen in other animals or plants.

From Seattle Times Dec. 2, 2021

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