complementary DNA; a form of DNA artificially synthesized from a messenger RNA template and used in genetic engineering to produce gene clones
cDNA in American English
abbreviation
complementary DNA: a DNA molecule that is complementary to a specific messenger RNA
Word origin
[1985–90]This word is first recorded in the period 1985–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: DNA fingerprinting, antisense, golden handcuffs, neural network, smiley