CRISPR

noun

ˈkri-spər 

variants or less commonly Crispr

1

: a segment of genetic material found in the genomes of prokaryotes (such as some bacteria and archaea) that consists of repeated short sequences of nucleotides interspersed at regular intervals between unique sequences of nucleotides derived from the DNA of pathogens (such as viruses) which had previously infected the bacteria and that functions to protect the bacteria against future infection by the same pathogens

Note: The CRISPR segment encodes, via transcription, short RNA sequences that pair with complementary sequences of viral DNA. The pairing is used to guide an enzyme to cleave the viral DNA and prevent further infection.

CRISPR, he learned, was a strange cluster of DNA sequences that could recognize invading viruses, deploy a special enzyme to chop them into pieces, and use the viral shards that remained to form a rudimentary immune system.

—Michael Specter

2

: a gene editing technique in which CRISPR and the RNA segments and enzymes it produces are used to identify and modify specific DNA sequences in the genome of other organisms

Just a few years after its invention, CRISPR gene editing is already having a major impact on biomedical research. It makes it easy to "turn off" genes one at a time, to see what they do. It can introduce specific mutations, to find out why they make cells cancerous or predispose people to diseases. And it can be used to tinker with the genes of plants and animals …

—Michael Le Page

Using CRISPR, they have now disabled four rice genes, suggesting that the technique could be used to engineer this crucial food crop.

—Elizabeth Pennisi

Scientists hope Crispr might also be used for genomic surgery, as it were, to correct errant genes that cause disease.

—Andrew Pollack

Note: The technique is sometimes called CRISPR-Cas9 , which includes the name of the enzyme that cleaves DNA.

… an incredibly fast-paced field in which laboratories around the world have used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genomes of a wide range of cell types and organisms.

—Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

Examples of CRISPR in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But many scientists and governments also agree that using genetic technologies to improve health outcomes, such as CRISPR powered CAR T-cell therapy to save the lives of cancer patients, can be well-justified. —Douglas McCauley, Time, 27 Apr. 2025

Colossal reconstructed a full genome through CRISPR edits. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2025

The ultimate goal for using CRISPR in patients with psoriasis would be to control inflammation in affected skin. —Team Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 3 Apr. 2025

The protective lipid layer helps the CRISPR system enter targeted cells more effectively. —Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025

One of these is based on the CRISPR/Cas9, which makes a break in both strands of DNA's double helix at a specific sequence that matches what's called a guide RNA. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 4 Mar. 2025

Enter the mouse, an animal whose genome lends itself to easy manipulation with CRISPR—a gene-editing tool developed in 2012, based on a natural process bacteria use to defend themselves in the wild. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025

For the study, the researchers used CRISPR gene editing technology to replace the NOVA1 protein found in mice with the human variant. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025

Advances in gene-editing technologies like CRISPR are opening doors to directly correct p53 mutations in cancer cells. —Prosper Obed Chukwuemeka, The Conversation, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

First Known Use

2002, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

CRISPR

noun

ˈkris-pər 

variants also Crispr

1

: a segment of genetic material found in the genomes of prokaryotes that consists of repeated short sequences of nucleotides interspersed at regular intervals between unique sequences of nucleotides derived from the DNA of viruses (such as bacteriophages) which had previously infected the prokaryote and that functions to protect the prokaryote against future infection by the same viruses

Note: The CRISPR segment encodes, via transcription, short RNA sequences that pair with complementary sequences of viral DNA. The pairing is used to guide an enzyme to cleave the viral DNA and prevent further infection.

One of the most dramatic examples of short-term genome evolution can be seen in the CRISPR … loci of bacteria and archaea. CRISPRs serve as a defense against invading phages and plasmids, in a manner akin to adaptive immunity.

—David A. Relman, The New England Journal of Medicine

2

: a gene editing technique in which CRISPR and the RNA segments and enzymes it produces are used to identify and modify specific DNA sequences in the genome of other organisms

Gene editing refers to several novel ways to alter the DNA inside living cells. The most popular method, CRISPR, has been revolutionizing scientific research … and is likely to power a new generation of gene treatments for serious diseases.

—Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review

Note: This technique is sometimes called CRISPR-Cas9, which includes the name of the enzyme that cleaves DNA.

CRISPR-Cas9 works by "silencing" the part of the … gene that signals protein production.

—Hanae Armitage, Science