splice

1 of 2

verb

ˈsplīs 

spliced; splicing

transitive verb

1

a

: to unite (two ropes or two parts of a rope) by interweaving the strands

b

: to unite (two lengths of magnetic tape, photographic film, etc.) by overlapping and securing together two ends

2

: to unite, link, or insert as if by splicing

3

: to combine or insert (something) by genetic engineering

spliced a human gene for insulin into a bacterium

splicer noun

splice

2 of 2

noun

1

: a joining or joint made by splicing something

2

: marriage, wedding

Illustration of splice

• splice 1

Examples of splice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Then, the darker shades took over with dark purple mid-lengths spliced with platinum highlights, deepening into a cranberry-magenta fusion at the ends. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 23 Mar. 2026

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Leo’s hometown Chicago, denounced the White House’ social media posts of the war that spliced in action movie clips with real footage. —ABC News, 9 Mar. 2026

Noun

Many of these features already have their own specialty AI tools—SpliceAI for splice site prediction, ChromBPNet for local chromatin accessibility, Orca for three-dimensional genome architecture. —Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2026

The most effective way to splice speaker cables is by using a dedicated, in-line speaker wire splice. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

obsolete Dutch splissen; akin to Middle Dutch splitten to split

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1525, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing splice

• comma splice

Rhymes for splice

• dice
• feis
• gneiss
• grice
• ice
• lice
• mice
• slice
• spice
• thrice
• trice
• twice

Kids Definition

splice

1 of 2 verb

ˈsplīs 

spliced; splicing

1

: to unite (as two ropes) by weaving the strands together

2

: to unite (as pieces of film) by connecting the ends together

3

: to unite, link, or insert as if by splicing

splicer noun

splice

2 of 2 noun

: a joining or joint made by splicing

Medical Definition

splice

transitive verb

ˈsplīs 

spliced; splicing

: to join together or insert (as segments of RNA or DNA) to form new genetic combinations

spliced a human gene for insulin into a bacterium

see gene-splicing