wild type

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. an organism having an appearance that is characteristic of the species in a natural breeding population.

2. the form or forms of a gene commonly occurring in nature in a given species.

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wild type British  

noun

1. biology the typical form of a species of organism resulting from breeding under natural conditions

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Other Word Forms

• wild-type adjective

Compare meaning

How does wild-type compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• wild type vs. mutant

Example Sentences

They then tracked these organisms over many generations and compared their growth to the wild type, or the most common form found in nature.

From Science Daily • Dec. 24, 2025

Planned after wild type 2 poliovirus had been eradicated, the switch—which the report calls “the largest coordinated public health effort in history”—was like a trial run for that ultimate goal.

From Science Magazine • May 7, 2024

In the current study, researchers noted that wild type wounded mice healed quite well, but the skin of transgenic mice devoid of microRNA-29 regenerated even better.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

"As new variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to emerge, it is important to assess the cross-neutralizing capabilities of antibodies naturally elicited during wild type SARS-CoV-2 infection," the authors explain.

From Salon • Sep. 12, 2022

Under all the circumstances, however, it seems more likely to be a case of reversion under favourable conditions from the domestic to the wild type.

From Our Cats and All About Them Their Varieties, Habits, and Management; and for Show, the Standard of Excellence and Beauty; Described and Pictured by Weir, Harrison