CLINAL is a valid Scrabble word — 8 points
Yes. CLINAL is accepted by every list we check: Collins, the North American lists and Words with Friends. It scores 8 points in Scrabble and 12 in Words with Friends.
Which word lists accept CLINAL?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Valid |
Word power: 26 / 100
Our own measure of how useful CLINAL is to know. It scores 8 from 6 tiles, takes 0 hooks, and its letters make up 5.7% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for CLINAL
No single letter turns CLINAL into another word.
How CLINAL scores
Face value of the 6 tiles in CLINAL, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| c | 1 | 2 |
| l | 2 | 4 |
| i | 1 | 9 |
| n | 1 | 6 |
| a | 1 | 9 |
Drawing exactly these 6 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 204,399.
What does CLINAL mean in Scrabble?
adjective
technical
Relating to a cline, a gradual change in a particular trait, such as colour or size, across the geographic range of a species.
Biologists describe a change as clinal when a trait shifts little by little from one place to the next rather than jumping sharply between distinct populations, such as birds growing gradually paler moving from south to north. A clinal pattern usually points to a continuous exchange of genes across neighbouring populations, without any sharp barrier splitting the species into separate groups. Because a clinal trait changes smoothly rather than in clear steps, drawing a firm boundary between one form and another can be difficult or even arbitrary. The word contrasts with variation that jumps abruptly at some clear line, which biologists would not usually call clinal.
How CLINAL is used
A technical term used mainly in biology and genetics to describe gradual geographic variation within a species.
- The study documented a clinal change in beak size across the region.
- Researchers mapped the clinal pattern of skin pigmentation in the population.
- The gradual, clinal shift in colour made classification difficult.
- Textbooks use the fox's coat colour as a classic clinal example.
- A clinal trait rarely allows for a single sharp dividing line.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of CLINAL and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Words starting with CLINAL
1 longer words begin with CLINAL.
Shorter words from the letters in CLINAL
Common questions about CLINAL
- Is CLINAL valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts CLINAL, where it scores 12 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is CLINAL worth?
- CLINAL is worth 8 points in Scrabble and 12 points in Words with Friends.
- What does CLINAL mean?
- Relating to a cline, a gradual change in a particular trait, such as colour or size, across the geographic range of a species.
- What letters can be added to CLINAL?
- No single letter can be added to CLINAL to make another word.
Every word you can build from the 6 letters of CLINAL:
Open CLINAL in the Word Finder