morph

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noun

1
a
b
: a distinctive collocation of phones (such as a portmanteau form) that serves as the realization of more than one morpheme in a context (such as the French du for the sequence of de and le)
2
a
: a local population of a species that consists of interbreeding organisms and is distinguishable from other populations by morphology or behavior though capable of interbreeding with them
b
: a phenotypic variant of a species

morph

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verb

morphed; morphing; morphs

transitive verb

: to change the form or character of : transform

intransitive verb

: to undergo transformation
especially : to undergo transformation from an image of one object into that of another especially by means of computer-generated animation

morph

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abbreviation

morph-

4 of 5

combining form

variants or morpho-
1
: form
morphogenesis
2
: morpheme
morphophonemics

-morph

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noun combining form

: one having (such) a form
isomorph

Examples of morph in a Sentence

Verb The picture of a dog morphed into a picture of a cat. Using the new software, we morphed a picture of a dog into a picture of a cat. a quiet college student who has morphed into a glamorous actress He is trying to morph himself into a different person.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
What starts as millions morphs into billions, and billions morph into trillions. Les Rubin, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025 Neo-Austrians imagine that $100,000 rented by Bank A from the saver soon enough morphs into millions, billions, and seemingly trillions of dollars coursing through the economy, all to the dollar’s detriment. John Tamny, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
Instead Fried is morphing into another ace while Cole makes his recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Larry Fleisher, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025 First launched in 1984 with a $250 annual fee (equivalent to $777 in 2025, based on the average rate of inflation), this distinctive card became a global status symbol through the years, morphing into a sleek, weighty metal card that costs more and more with each new evolution. Katherine Fan, AFAR Media, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for morph

Word History

Etymology

Noun

back-formation from morpheme

Verb

short for metamorphose

Combining form

German, from Greek, from morphē

Noun combining form

International Scientific Vocabulary, from -morphous

First Known Use

Noun

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1982, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of morph was in 1947

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Cite this Entry

“Morph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morph. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

morph

verb
ˈmȯrf
: to change in form or character
Etymology

Verb

short for metamorphose "to change in form"

Medical Definition

morph

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on morph

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