gene

UK: /ˈdʒiːn/ US: /dʒin/ ,( jēn)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

gene /dʒin/   n. [countable]

1. Genetics the basic physical unit of heredity;
   a part of cells that provides the coded instructions for the production of RNA, which, when translated into protein, controls how living things develop and grow.

See -gen-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

gene  ( jēn), n. 

1. Genetics the basic physical unit of heredity;
   a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.

• German Gen (1909), apparently abstracted from -gen -gen; introduced by Danish geneticist Wilhelm Latin. Johannsen (1857–1927)
• 1911

Gene  ( jēn), n. 

1. a male given name, form of Eugene. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gene / dʒiːn/ noun

1. a unit of heredity composed of DNA occupying a fixed position on a chromosome (some viral genes are composed of RNA). A gene may determine a characteristic of an individual by specifying a polypeptide chain that forms a protein or part of a protein (structural gene); or encode an RNA molecule; or regulate the operation of other genes or repress such operation

Etymology: 20th Century: from German Gen, shortened from Pangen; see pan-, -gen

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-gene suffix:forming_nouns

1. a variant of -gen