genetic code

noun

: the biochemical basis of heredity consisting of codons in DNA and RNA that determine the specific amino acid sequence in proteins and appear to be uniform for nearly all known forms of life

Examples of genetic code in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What to know: Sequencing a baby’s genetic code can catch conditions not spotted by traditional screening, early results from studies in North Carolina and New York show. —Jamie Ross, Washington Post, 17 June 2024

But life doesn’t offer up instructions in the tidy, more-steps-equals-more-complexity way of Ikea or Lego assembly manuals — hence petite ferns with jumbo-sized genetic codes. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024

Sequencing a short region of each fungus’s genetic code can tell them apart. —Rachel Bujalski Veronique Greenwood, New York Times, 11 June 2024

And that last little bit about Kamala’s genetic code? —Nola Pfau, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

genetic code

noun

: the chemical code that is the basis of genetic inheritance and consists of units of three linked chemical groups which specify particular kinds of amino acids used to make proteins or which start or stop the process of making proteins

Medical Definition

genetic code

noun

: the biochemical basis of heredity consisting of codons in DNA and RNA that determine the specific amino acid sequence in proteins and that appear to be uniform for all known forms of life

genetic coding noun