clone

UK: /ˈkləʊn/ US: /kloʊn/ ,(klōn)

Inflections of 'clone' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

clones

v 3rd person singular

cloning

v pres p

cloned

v past

cloned

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

clone /kloʊn/   n., v., cloned, clon•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Biology
   • a living thing that is identical in its genes to the unit or individual from which it was obtained.
   • a group of identical individuals that come from the same original individual.
2. a person or thing that duplicates another in appearance, etc.:
   The new computers are clones of the original model.

v. [~ + object]

3. to produce a copy of:
   cloned the new machines by using the same microchip.
4. Genetics to cause to grow as a clone:
   They cloned some remarkable organisms in their laboratory.

clon•al, adj. 
clon•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

clone  (klōn), n., v., cloned, clon•ing. 
n. 

1. Biology
   • a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived.
   • a population of identical units, cells, or individuals that derive from the same ancestral line.
2. a person or thing that duplicates, imitates, or closely resembles another in appearance, function, performance, or style:
   All the fashion models seemed to be clones of one another.

v.t. 

3. to produce a copy or imitation of.
4. Genetics [Biol.]
   • to cause to grow as a clone.
   • to separate (a batch of cells or cell products) so that each portion produces only its own kind.

v.i. 

5. Genetics [Biol.] to grow as a clone.

• Greek kló̄n a slip, twig
• 1900–05

clon′al, adj. 
clon′al•ly, adv. 
clon′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

clone / kləʊn/ noun

1. a group of organisms or cells of the same genetic constitution that are descended from a common ancestor by asexual reproduction, as by cuttings, grafting, etc, in plants
2. Also called: gene clone a segment of DNA that has been isolated and replicated by laboratory manipulation: used to analyse genes and manufacture their products (proteins)
3. a person or thing bearing a very close resemblance to another person or thing
4. a mobile phone that has been given the electronic identity of an existing mobile phone, so that calls made on the second phone are charged to the owner of the first phone
5. any similar object or device, such as a credit card, that has been given the electronic identity of another device usually in order to commit theft

verb

1. to produce or cause to produce a clone
2. to produce near copies (of a person or thing)
3. (transitive) to give (a mobile phone, etc) the electronic identity of an existing mobile phone (or other device), so that calls, purchases, etc made with the second device are charged to the owner of the first device

Etymology: 20th Century: from Greek klōn twig, shoot; related to klan to break