/ mjuːˈteɪʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U , C ] ( biology ) a process in which the genetic material of a person, a plant or an animal changes in structure when it is passed on to children, etc., causing different physical characteristics to develop; a change of this kind :
cells affected by mutation
genetic mutations
2.
[ U , C ] a change in the form or structure of sth :
( linguistics )
vowel mutation
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin mutatio(n-) , from mutare to change.