clone
/kloʊn/noun, verb
clone is spelled C-L-O-N-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clone means “A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clone is clones.
How many letters and syllables are in clone?
| Letters | 5: C-L-O-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.8 times per million words; the 11,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clone?
Clone appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce clone?
- US /kloʊn/
- UK /kləʊn/
Clone has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-clone.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with clone?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clone from its last stressed vowel (/oʊn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of clone
- clones plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cloning participle, present
- cloned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clone mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical.
This new species is a clone of the mimosa plant.
- 2
A group of identical cells derived from a single cell.
- 3
A copy or imitation of something already existing, especially when designed to simulate it.
The computer manufacturer produced IBM PC clones in the 1990s.
- 4
informalA person who is exactly like or very similar to another person, in terms of looks or behavior.
- 5
slangA Castro clone.
verb
- 1
To create a clone of.
The scientists were able to clone a sheep.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clone in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | clone , cloner |
| German | Klon , klonen , Klone |
| Portuguese | clone , clonar |
| Spanish | clon , clonar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does clone come from?
Coined (in botany) in 1903, based on Ancient Greek κλών (klṓn, “twig”). Figurative use from the 1970s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).