gene mutation

noun

plural gene mutations

: a permanent alteration (as by point mutation or frameshift mutation) in the nucleotide sequence of a gene

Researchers have identified a gene mutation that's believed to predispose people to malignant melanoma, the deadliest and most aggressive type of skin cancer.

—Health News

compare point mutation

Examples of gene mutation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their reactions to both testing positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation were especially emotional. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026

While the statistics may sound scary, the roughly 1 in 400 women with a BRCA gene mutation have a lot of preventative health options these days. — Caitlin Carlson, Glamour, 10 Sep. 2026

Scientists have now gotten closer to understanding how gene mutations may lead some people to develop profound autism. — Pien Huang, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026

In people with this gene mutation — which experts say applies to about 1 in 250 people in the United States — one or both copies of ANGPTL3 is shut off. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gene mutation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

gene mutation

noun

: mutation due to a chemical change in a gene

Medical Definition

gene mutation

noun

: a permanent alteration (as a point mutation or frameshift mutation) in the nucleotide sequence of a gene

… there is a 50 percent chance each offspring will inherit the gene mutation and may develop the disease.

—Fred Cicetti

In early August the team published a study in Nature that chronicled how a single gene mutation in a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli could create a bacterium resistant to triclosan …

—Gary Stix