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Definition and meaning of English word "gene"

gene

/dʒiːn/

Meaning

Noun

A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.

Reviewed by the TheLernen language team

How to use

The term 'gene' refers to a unit of heredity. It's a fundamental concept in genetics and molecular biology. A common mistake is to confuse 'gene' with 'genome'.

🇬🇧 English

gene

Example

Scientists identified a specific mutated gene responsible for hereditary color blindness.

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Synonyms

a contributing elementa single thing, person, or groupa variant of a gene

Common phrases

  • gene expression— the process by which the information encoded in a gene is used
  • gene therapy— a medical treatment that uses genes to prevent or treat diseases
  • gene pool— the complete set of genes in a population

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This concept in other languages

Frequency rank: #1304 in English

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the English word "gene" mean?▼

The English word "gene" means "gene" in English.

How do you pronounce the English word "gene"?▼

You can hear the correct audio pronunciation of the word "gene" by clicking the play button next to the word at the top of this page.

Can I see an example sentence with "gene"?▼

Yes, here is a practical example: "Scientists identified a specific mutated gene responsible for hereditary color blindness." (which translates as "gene").

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