diff --git a/icu4c/source/i18n/translit.cpp b/icu4c/source/i18n/translit.cpp
index 3469fe6feea..f619a5c1857 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/i18n/translit.cpp
+++ b/icu4c/source/i18n/translit.cpp
@@ -155,6 +155,10 @@ Transliterator::Transliterator(const Transliterator& other) :
     }
 }
 
+Transliterator* Transliterator::clone() const {
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 /**
  * Assignment operator.
  */
diff --git a/icu4c/source/i18n/unicode/translit.h b/icu4c/source/i18n/unicode/translit.h
index dfa36ccaad7..846d2d46e40 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/i18n/unicode/translit.h
+++ b/icu4c/source/i18n/unicode/translit.h
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ public:
      * @see #registerInstance
      * @stable ICU 2.0
      */
-    virtual Transliterator* clone() const { return 0; }
+    virtual Transliterator* clone() const;
 
     /**
      * Transliterates a segment of a string, with optional filtering.