recombinant

adjective

re·​com·​bi·​nant (ˌ)rē-ˈkäm-bə-nənt How to pronounce recombinant (audio)
1
: relating to or exhibiting genetic recombination
recombinant progeny
2
a
: relating to or containing genetically engineered DNA
b
: produced by genetic engineering
recombinant bovine growth hormone
recombinant noun

Examples of recombinant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There have been signals before of cardiovascular benefits in people who got the newer, recombinant vaccine to prevent shingles, a painful, often serious flare-up in older people of the chickenpox virus from childhood. — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 26 Aug. 2026 Messages break down, signals decay, information rots; the stuff of everyday data dystopia and media apocalypse, but in Braxton’s hands, raw material to be shaped into something recombinant and strange. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 Bio-Techne develops recombinant proteins used by researchers to study human diseases and develop drugs. — Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 It was convened in 1975 to discuss recombinant DNA, a then-new kind of genome editing. — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for recombinant

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of recombinant was in 1940

Phrases Containing recombinant

Browse Nearby Words

recomb
recombinant
recombinant DNA
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Recombinant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recombinant. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Medical Definition

recombinant

1 of 2 adjective
re·​com·​bi·​nant (ˈ)rē-ˈkäm-bə-nənt How to pronounce recombinant (audio)
1
: relating to or exhibiting genetic recombination
recombinant progeny
2
a
: relating to or containing genetically engineered DNA
b
: produced by genetic engineering
recombinant bovine growth hormone

recombinant

2 of 2 noun
: an individual exhibiting recombination
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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