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self-replicating

American  
[self-rep-li-key-ting, self-] / ˈsɛlfˈrɛp lɪˌkeɪ tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

  1. reproducing itself by its own power or inherent nature.

    self-replicating organisms.

  2. Genetics. making an exact copy or copies of itself, as a strand of DNA.

Other Word Forms

  • self-replication noun

Etymology

Origin of self-replicating

First recorded in 1955–60

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.