mutation
nounThe act or process of being altered or changed.
nounAn alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.
nounA change in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism or virus, sometimes resulting in the appearance of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.
nounThe process by which such a change occurs, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of the genetic material.
nounThe nucleotide sequence, trait, or individual that results from such a change.
nounA change affecting a sound or a class of sounds, such as back vowels or plosive consonants, through assimilation to another sound, as in the process of umlaut.
nounA change affecting a sound or a class of sounds that is conditioned by morphological or syntactic factors rather than purely phonological factors, as in Irish, where certain words cause the lenition of the initial consonants of the following word.
nounIn biology: