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clade

noun
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\ ˈklād How to pronounce clade (audio) \

Definition of clade

: a group of biological taxa (such as species) that includes all descendants of one common ancestor

Examples of clade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Zhùr and her clade are the ancestors of every wolf in the world (except possibly the high-altitude Himalayan wolves, which have apparently been doing their own thing for hundreds of thousands of years, according to a study earlier in 2020). — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Yukon gold miner unearths a mummified Ice Age wolf pup," 22 Dec. 2020 Last spring, a clade known as D614G came to dominate the world. — James Hamblin, The Atlantic, "The Evolution of the Coronavirus," 15 Jan. 2021 The emergence of a new clade can be as difficult to predict as any rise to global domination. — James Hamblin, The Atlantic, "The Evolution of the Coronavirus," 15 Jan. 2021 That clade also includes larger and venomous snakes such as cobras and mambas. — Francesca Giuliani-hoffman, CNN, "Scientists discover a new species of snake hiding in plain sight," 26 Dec. 2020 Zhùr’s mitochondrial DNA fit right into that group of closely related animals, or clade, with a common ancestor that lived between 86,000 and 67,500 years ago. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Yukon gold miner unearths a mummified Ice Age wolf pup," 22 Dec. 2020 That clade first showed up in the United States in California. — USA Today, "How the South and Southwest became the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic," 10 Dec. 2020 Both were found to be in the same group, or clade, that was primarily found in North America. — Author: Karen Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, "A 25-year-old Nevada man got COVID-19 twice. It was worse the second time.," 13 Oct. 2020 Both were found to be in the same group, or clade, that was primarily found in North America. — oregonlive, "A Nevada man got COVID-19 twice, and it was worse the second time," 13 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of clade

1911, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for clade

Greek klados

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Statistics for clade

Last Updated

16 Mar 2021

Cite this Entry

“Clade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clade. Accessed 10 Apr. 2021.

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More from Merriam-Webster on clade

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about clade

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