mutation: meaning and definitions

The act or process of being altered or changed.

An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

Genetics A change of the DNA sequence within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.

Genetics The process by which such a change occurs in a chromosome, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of a chromosome.

Genetics A mutant.

Linguistics The change that is caused in a sound by its assimilation to another sound, such as umlaut.