mutate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Genes can be expressed or activated, or not—more often they’re not; they mutate and can alter their own function and be altered by environmental forces.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

Most efforts to create broader vaccines have aimed to protect against an entire viral family, such as all coronaviruses or all influenza strains, by targeting viral components that mutate less frequently.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

While human H5N1 cases have slowed, the virus’s potential to mutate for human-to-human transmission remains a public health concern.

From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025

And for COVID-19, mRNA vaccines are more effective against new variants, which emerge as viruses mutate, than whole-virus vaccines.

From Salon • Sep. 5, 2025

The problem is that in response to antibiotics, bacteria can mutate or change.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan