self-replicating

American  

[self-rep-li-key-ting, self-] / ˈsɛlfˈrɛp lɪˌkeɪ tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. reproducing itself by its own power or inherent nature.

   self-replicating organisms.

2. Genetics. making an exact copy or copies of itself, as a strand of DNA.

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Other Word Forms

• self-replication noun

Etymology

Origin of self-replicating

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Curiously, of the 4.9 billion reactions generated, only hundreds of reaction cycles could be called "self-replicating," which means that the molecules produce additional copies of themselves.

From Science Daily • Jan. 24, 2024

Showing the legislators how ChatGPT could concoct an entirely convincing senator’s speech, Altman told them that A.I. should be blocked from self-replicating or escaping into the wild.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2023

The device uses self-replicating microorganisms to turn scraps into compost.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2023

This implies that self-replicating probes could reach ten billion habitable planets around Sun-like stars in less than a billion years.

From Salon • Oct. 9, 2022

The chloroplasts in all plants are, similarly, independent and self-replicating lodgers, with their own DNA and RNA and ribosomes.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas