clone

American  

[klohn] / kloʊn /

noun

clones plural

1. Biology.

   1. a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived.

   2. 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: Several manufacturers made off-brand clones of the popular game console.

   All the fashion models seemed to be clones of one another.

   Several manufacturers made off-brand clones of the popular game console.

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verb (used with object)

clones, present (3rd person singular) cloned, past participle, past cloning present participle

1. to produce a copy or imitation of.

2. to copy identifying information from (a mobile device, credit card, security badge, etc.), usually for the purpose of identity theft or unauthorized security access.

   They cloned my key card and used the copy to steal all the valuables from my hotel room.

3. Biology.

   1. to cause to grow as a clone.

   2. to separate (a batch of cells or cell products) so that each portion produces only its own kind.

verb (used without object)

clones, present (3rd person singular) cloned, past participle, past cloning present participle

1. Biology. to grow as a clone.

clone British  

/ 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. informal a person or thing bearing a very close resemblance to another person or thing

4. slang

   1. 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

   2. 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

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verb

1. to produce or cause to produce a clone

2. informal to produce near copies (of a person or thing)

3. slang (tr) 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

clone Scientific  

/ klōn /

1. A cell, group of cells, or organism that is produced asexually from and is genetically identical to a single ancestor. The cells of an individual plant or animal, except for gametes and some cells of the immune system, are clones because they all descend from a single fertilized cell and are genetically identical. A clone may be produced by fission, in the case of single-celled organisms, by budding, as in the hydra, or in the laboratory by putting the nucleus of a diploid cell into an egg that has had its nucleus removed. Some plants can produce clones from horizontal stems, such as runners. Clones of other cells and some plants and animals can also be produced in a laboratory.

2. See also therapeutic cloning

3. A copy of a sequence of DNA, as from a gene, that is produced by genetic engineering. The clone is then transplanted into the nucleus of a cell from which genetic material has been removed.

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1. To produce or grow a cell, group of cells, or organism from a single original cell.

2. To make identical copies of a DNA sequence.

3. See more at genetic engineering

clone Cultural  

1. A living system that is genetically identical to its ancestor (that is, it has exactly the same DNA molecules). Because each cell contains the DNA molecules that characterize an individual, it is, in principle, possible to replicate, or reproduce, complex living systems in the laboratory.

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Discover More

There is a major debate on the ethical aspects (see bioethics) of cloning, especially as applied to human beings. Therapeutic cloning involves the placing of adult DNA in an egg for the express purpose of creating stem cells for medical purposes. Reproductive cloning involves the placement of adult DNA into an egg and the implantation of the egg into a uterus for the purpose of creating a viable fetus.

The first cloned mammal, a sheep named Dolly, was born in Scotland in 1996. DNA from an adult donor was placed into an egg, which was then implanted in the uterus of another sheep. Since that time, mice, cows, and pigs have been cloned.

Clone is often used informally to indicate a close copy or resemblance: “This new computer is a clone of the IBM model.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cloner
  noun
• clonal
  adjective
• clonally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clones
  plural

Participles

• cloning
  present
• cloned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• clone
  simple
• clones
  simple
• have cloned
  perfect
• has cloned
  perfect
• am cloning
  progressive
• are cloning
  progressive
• is cloning
  progressive
• have been cloning
  perfect progressive
• has been cloning
  perfect progressive

Past

• cloned
  simple
• had cloned
  perfect
• was cloning
  progressive
• were cloning
  progressive
• had been cloning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will clone
  simple
• will have cloned
  perfect
• will be cloning
  progressive
• will have been cloning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of clone

First recorded in 1900–05; from Greek klṓn “a slip, twig”

Explanation

A clone is an organism that's genetically identical to another organism. The clone of a sheep has the exact same DNA as the original sheep. While most people are fascinated with the idea of identical clones of animals — or even humans — it's much more common for a biologist to create clones of individual cells or molecules for experimental and other scientific uses. You can also describe someone as a clone if they act or look uncannily like another person: "Your cousin is totally your clone." The word clone was first used in botany, the science of plants, from the Greek klon, "twig."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clone clones cloned cloning

In our Valley Stream, Long Island home, my youthful 80-year-old, African American mother and I — her Gen X son and facial clone — comment on each episode like armchair judges.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

The first clone of Gem Twist, Gemini, was born in 2008.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Many family-emergency scams do not even require a perfect voice clone.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

Now, he’s returned with “Sheep in the Box,” a slick and dull story about two grieving parents who adopt a clone of their dead son.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

It resembled MacGregor, of course, because it was his clone, but MacGregor was an adult with differences that made it hard to see the connection.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

They were both clones of the late champion eventer, Chilli Morning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

“While we do not see Meta abandoning its pursuit of AGI/ ChatGPT clones, we think this could be the first catalyst to more rational spending,” he added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

It would be, of course, impossible, if possibly amusing, to tell a “Stranger Things” tale set in this time with the original actors, and horrifying, if not immoral, to tell it with AI clones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

"These clones were then evaluated in vitro and in a mouse model to observe their ability to migrate through a real biological filter and generate metastases," adds Arwen Conod.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026

There was still the terrible fate of the other clones to consider.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

The plate is a confirmed cloned tag used by a DHS surveillance task force.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Or competing software companies that already have brand recognition could easily launch cloned products, all but erasing the ability of firms to differentiate their products from their rivals’.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

It's simple science - if you surround your key with metal, it blocks the signal so the key can't be cloned.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026

On YouTube, his clone narrates “100 CEOs With Steven Bartlett,” which adds AI-generated animation to Bartlett’s cloned voice to tell the life stories of entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs and Richard Branson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

I started saying it was just Henrietta’s cells scientists had cloned, not Henrietta herself.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Sceptics initially saw the cloning as "taboo" disruptions of nature, Shoichi Ikeno, head of local diving company Lagoon, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Still, the debate about whether it is the right way forward for horse sports is getting louder, as cloning progresses to gene editing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology has demolished the boundaries between reality and fiction, handing cybercriminals strikingly convincing voice cloning tools to steal from people by mimicking loved ones.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

Dennhardt said restoring the island will also involve ripping out invasive plants, cloning rare plant species and seeding the landscape with natives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026

But before the cloning of whole animals, there was the cloning of individual cells —Henrietta’s cells.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Related Words

• duplicate
• replicate
• reproduce