genome

noun

ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm How to pronounce genome (audio)
: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain
broadly : the genetic material of an organism compare proteome

Examples of genome in a Sentence

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Each vaccine is created by taking the excised tumor, sequencing its genome and identifying a tell-tale fingerprint of abnormal proteins known as neoantigens, Long said. — David Cox, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026 However, researchers have been unable to find a trace of BPC in the human genome, meaning it’s not made by humans, said Katrin Svensson, a peptide scientist at Stanford University. — Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 Is an individual even a network, or is an individual just a genome, tiny little nuclei floating inside this tube? — Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026 One of the other things that Claude noticed was that these array of associated reverse transcriptases seem to be isolated to jumbo phages, which have very large genomes for bacteriophage. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for genome

Word History

Etymology

German Genom, from Gen gene + -om (as in Chromosom chromosome)

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of genome was in 1926

Phrases Containing genome

Rhymes for genome

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Browse Nearby Words

genoise
genome
genomere
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Cite this Entry

“Genome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genome. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Medical Definition

genome

noun
ge·​nome ˈjē-ˌnōm How to pronounce genome (audio)
: one haploid set of chromosomes with the genes they contain
broadly : the genetic material of an organism
The idea behind sequencing an organism's genome—decoding, letter by letter, the message contained in every last one of its genes—is that it would tell us a lot about how the organism works. —Lori Oliwenstein, Discover

More from Merriam-Webster on genome

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about genome

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