genome

noun

ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm 

: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain

broadly : the genetic material of an organism compare proteome

Examples of genome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

View gallery - 3 images An ambitious plan to sequence genomes for 1.85 million eukaryotic species on our planet is underway. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 11 Nov. 2025

As Watson and Crick noted in their original publication, the double-helix structure of DNA implicated a straightforward mechanism for how the genome changed and replicated, and that insight transformed biology into a mechanistic science. —Kathryn Paige Harden, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025

Researchers presented Watson with the detailed description of his own genome in 2007. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025

Investigating viruses means investigating genes—since the way a virus hijacks a cell is by forcing it to replicate the viral genome in place of the host’s. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

German Genom, from Gen gene + -om (as in Chromosom chromosome)

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing genome

• genome editing

Rhymes for genome

• biome
• megohm
• nichrome
• noisome
• prodrome
• radome
• rhizome
• shalom
• syndrome
• acrosome
• aerodrome
• catacomb

Medical Definition

genome

noun

ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm 

: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain

broadly : the genetic material of an organism

The idea behind sequencing an organism's genome—decoding, letter by letter, the message contained in every last one of its genes—is that it would tell us a lot about how the organism works.

—Lori Oliwenstein, Discover