self-replicating

US: (self′rep′li kā′ting, self′-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

self-rep•li•cat•ing  (self′rep′li kā′ting, self′-), adj. 

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.

• 1955–60

self′-rep′li•ca′tion, n.