n. 1. A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. For example: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama! 2. A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand. [From Greek palindromos, running back again, recurring : palin, again; see kwel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + dromos, a running.] pal′in·dromic (-drōmĭk, -drŏmĭk) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.