mutation
nounUK /mjuːˈteɪʃən/
US /mjuːˈteɪʃən/
A change in the instructions that tell a living thing how to grow.
The white fur on the rabbit came from a mutation in its genes.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A new form of a living thing that results from such a change.
Scientists discovered a mutation of the virus.
3. The act or process of changing into a different form.
The mutation of the old factory into apartments took two years.
4. A change in the sound of a word as languages develop.
Linguists studied the mutation of vowels over centuries.