splice

American  

[splahys] / splaɪs /

verb (used with object)

splices, present (3rd person singular) spliced, past participle, past splicing present participle

1. to join together or unite (two ropes or parts of a rope) by the interweaving of strands.

2. to unite (timbers, spars, or the like) by overlapping and binding their ends.

3. to unite (film, magnetic tape, or the like) by butting and cementing.

4. to join or unite.

5. Genetics. to join (segments of DNA or RNA) together.

6. Informal. to unite in marriage.

   They'll be spliced in June.

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noun

1. a joining of two ropes or parts of a rope by splicing.

2. the union or junction made by splicing.

3. a joining or junction of two pieces of timber, spar, etc., by overlapping and fastening the ends.

4. a joining of film, electromagnetic tape, or the like.

idioms

1. splice the main brace,

   1. to issue a ration of spirits, as grog, to all hands.

   2. to drink spirits.

splice British  

/ splaɪs /

verb

1. to join (two ropes) by intertwining the strands

2. to join up the trimmed ends of (two pieces of wire, film, magnetic tape, etc) with solder or an adhesive material

3. to join (timbers) by overlapping and binding or bolting the ends together

4. informal (passive) to enter into marriage

   the couple got spliced last Saturday

5. nautical history to issue and partake of an extra allocation of alcoholic spirits

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noun

1. a join made by splicing

2. the place where such a join occurs

3. the wedge-shaped end of a cricket-bat handle or similar instrument that fits into the blade

splice Scientific  

/ splīs /

1. To join together genes or gene fragments or insert them into a cell or other structure, such as a virus, by means of enzymes. In genetic engineering, scientists splice together genetic material to produce new genes or to alter a genetic structure. In messenger RNA, the introns are removed, and exons are spliced together to yield the final messenger RNA that is translated.

2. See also exon intron

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undersplice
  verb (used with object)
• unspliced
  adjective
• spliceable
  adjective
• splicer
  noun
• resplice
  verb (used with object)

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have spliced
  perfect
• has spliced
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are splicing
  progressive
• is splicing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am splicing
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been splicing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been splicing
  perfect progressive
• splices
  singular 3rd person
• splicing
  participle

Past

• had spliced
  perfect
• was splicing
  progressive singular
• were splicing
  progressive plural
• spliced
  simple
• had been splicing
  perfect progressive
• spliced
  participle

Future

• will splice
  simple
• will have spliced
  perfect
• will have been splicing
  perfect progressive
• will be splicing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of splice

1515–25; < earlier Dutch splissen (now splitsen )

Explanation

As noun and verb, splice refers to the overlapping or interweaving of two ends of something to create the strongest possible attachment. The earliest records of the word splice are from the early 16th century, when it was borrowed from the Middle Dutch verb splissen, used by sailors for joining ropes end to end by interweaving their strands. In 1912, the infant motion-picture industry took over the word splice to refer to the cutting and joining of film in the editing process. In 1975, scientists found they could alter genes by cutting and adding chunks of DNA, creating the science of gene splicing.

Example Sentences

Some are using genetic testing and exploring gene splicing to produce children with desired traits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

He said the error did not amount to "innocent splicing".

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

The new lawsuit filed by Baldoni accuses the New York Times of cherry-picking texts, stripping them of context and deliberately splicing them to mislead readers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2025

This study uncovered widespread context-dependent splicing events that were often specific to a particular cell type.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2024

More were at work on their boats, polishing brass, sitting on deck splicing ropes, hosing down the sails.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Related Words

• graft