gene editing

noun

variants or genome editing

: the use of biotechnological techniques to make changes to specific DNA sequences in the genome of a living organism

What's more, gene editing is extremely precise. … Just as a skillful editor can delete or add a word to improve a sentence without interfering with the structure of a document, gene editing makes it possible to change or disable a single gene without changing the "meaning" of the rest of the genome.

—Kat McGowan

The era of straightforward genome editing raises ethical questions that will need to be addressed by scientists and society at large.

—Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

a gene-editing technique called CRISPR

Examples of gene editing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists and bioethicists have long raised concerns about the implications of CRISPR gene editing in human embryos. — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 24 June 2026

As soon as that original article with my collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier was published in the summer of 2012, immediately there were many labs that started using it and testing it for gene editing in different systems. — Quanta Magazine, 11 June 2026

Clemson’s Chris Saski is leading research that is using artificial intelligence along with gene editing and breeding tools to uncover genetic traits that can help cotton fare better in tougher environments. — Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 5 June 2026

Things like gene editing or testing new molecules typically demanded many hours in the laboratory — carefully mixing hundreds of chemical cocktails by hand and pipetting them into petri dishes, tasks that required an enormous amount of human labor. — Katia Riddle, NPR, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gene editing

• accrediting
• discrediting
• crediting