Word.ws English Dictionary

oncogene

UK/ˈɒŋkə(ʊ)dʒiːn/

oncogene noun: any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.

Noun

oncogene (plural oncogenes)

  1. Any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.
    • It was obvious from the start what kinds of genes oncogenes would turn out to be – genes that encourage cells to grow.1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 234

Forms of oncogene

pluraloncogenes

Origin of oncogene

From onco- + gene.

Words formed from oncogene

Questions about oncogene

What does oncogene mean?
Oncogene means any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.
What part of speech is oncogene?
Oncogene is a noun.
How do you pronounce oncogene?
Oncogene is pronounced /ˈɒŋkə(ʊ)dʒiːn/ (UK).
What is the plural of oncogene?
The plural of oncogene is oncogenes.

Words near oncogene in the dictionary

  1. oncofactors
  2. oncofertility
  3. oncofetal
  4. oncofoetal
  5. oncogen
  6. oncogene
  7. oncogenes
  8. oncogeneses
  9. oncogenesis
  10. oncogenetic
  11. oncogenetically

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: oncogene (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “oncogene.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/oncogene. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.