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mutation: Meaning and Definition of
mu•ta•tion
Pronunciation: (my-tā'shun), [key] — n.
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- a sudden departure from the parent type in one or more heritable characteristics, caused by a change in a gene or a chromosome.
- an individual, species, or the like, resulting from such a departure.
- the act or process of changing.
- a change or alteration, as in form or nature.
- umlaut.
- (in Celtic languages) syntactically determined morphophonemic phenomena that affect initial sounds of words.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.