copy

1 of 2

noun

ˈkä-pē

plural copies

: an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work (such as a letter, a painting, a table, or a dress)

: one of a series of especially mechanical reproductions of an original impression

also : an individual example of such a reproduction

archaic : something to be imitated : model

: matter to be set especially for printing

: something considered printable or newsworthy

—used without an article

remarks that make good copy

Norman Cousins

: text especially of an advertisement

: duplicate sense 1a

a copy of a computer file

a copy of a gene

copy

2 of 2

verb

copied; copying; copies

transitive verb

: to make a copy or duplicate of

copy a document

Please copy and paste the link into your browser.

For players who are holdovers from last year's ballot, I just copied and pasted what I wrote a year ago.

Dave Cameron

: to model oneself on

in radio/military communications : to acknowledge receipt of (a message)

The operator of the Titanic was busy figuring his accounts and did not bother to copy the message. A little later in the afternoon, another ship named the Baltic called the Titanic to tell her about icebergs that were in her way.

Rev. Robert P. Lawrence

intransitive verb

: to make a copy

: to undergo copying

the map did not copy well

in radio/military communications : to acknowledge receipt and understanding of a message

"Block the road with your car. Take no other action. … No resistance, do you copy? Over."

Stephen King

Choose the Right Synonym for copy

Noun

reproduction, duplicate, copy, facsimile, replica mean a thing made to closely resemble another.

reproduction implies an exact or close imitation of an existing thing.

reproductions from the museum's furniture collection

duplicate implies a double or counterpart exactly corresponding to another thing.

a duplicate of a house key

copy applies especially to one of a number of things reproduced mechanically.

printed 1000 copies of the lithograph

facsimile suggests a close reproduction often of graphic matter that may differ in scale.

a facsimile of a rare book

replica implies the exact reproduction of a particular item in all details

a replica of the Mayflower

but not always in the same scale.

miniature replicas of classic cars

Verb

copy, imitate, mimic, ape, mock mean to make something so that it resembles an existing thing.

copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible.

copied the painting and sold the fake as an original

imitate suggests following a model or a pattern but may allow for some variation.

imitate a poet's style

mimic implies a close copying (as of voice or mannerism) often for fun, ridicule, or lifelike imitation.

pupils mimicking their teacher

ape may suggest presumptuous, unoriginal, or inept imitating of a superior original.

American fashion designers aped their European colleagues

mock usually implies imitation with derision.

mocking a vain man's pompous manner

Example Sentences

Noun The novel has sold more than a million copies. She got a job writing advertising copy. All copy must be submitted by 5 p.m. Verb She copied the design on a piece of paper. Copy the file to your hard drive. The bills are designed to prevent copying by counterfeiters. We caught him copying the answers out of the book. We caught him copying out of the book. The speech was copied word for word. His music was copied widely. Their competitors soon copied the idea. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On the way to Montana with my advance copy of Breathless, another gimmick had occurred to me.

Joshua Sokol, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2022 Please keep your copy of ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song’ at no cost.

Chris Willman, Variety, 20 Nov. 2022 Christopher Plummer played victim Harlan Thrombey — a winking homage to Harlowe Thromby — in the murder mystery, written and directed by series fan Rian Johnson, who once tweeted a photo of his dog-eared copy of Packard’s Your Code Name is Jonah.

Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Nov. 2022 The City Council found out almost a year later, in early 2021, from a local blogger who had gotten hold of a copy of the EPA order.

WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 Bernier and Tauchen received the e-mail at 10:47 a.m. on Nov. 9, virtually the same time the Arizona lawmakers received a verbatim copy of the message from Thomas.

BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2022 Bernier and Tauchen received the email at 10:47 a.m. on Nov. 9, virtually the same time the Arizona lawmakers received a verbatim copy of the message from Thomas.

Emma Brown, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Sep. 2022 The Senate Intelligence Committee, which received a copy of the report, is taking the disclosure seriously and is setting a meeting to discuss the allegations, according to Rachel Cohen, a committee spokesperson.

Clare Duffy, CNN, 27 Aug. 2022 Trump almost certainly received a copy of the search warrant and could release it publicly, but is unlikely to do so.

David Rohde, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2022

Verb

The cages included phones, desks and copy machines.

Chad Pergram | Fox News, Fox News, 30 Nov. 2022 And Gaughan developed a template for major cases that judges in the building would soon copy, for better or worse.

Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022 Businesses and government can monitor his actions and copy those elements that work to improve productivity.

WSJ, 25 Nov. 2022 Even now, in 2022, Samsung continues to copy Apple’s new iPhone features all the time.

Chris Smith, BGR, 25 Nov. 2022 Baby cuckoos, deposited by their parents as eggs in the nests of other birds, have evolved to copy the calls of their foster species to con their adoptive parents into feeding them.

Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2022 Prosecutors said Xu worked with others in the Ministry of State Security to hack or copy computers in hotel rooms while the experts were taken to dinner by ministry officials.

Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 16 Nov. 2022 Errors that are made as viruses copy their genomes are fodder for evolution.

Simon Makin, Scientific American, 15 Nov. 2022 The lesson: Look very closely at the username of a potential fake, or even copy-paste the two usernames into a different interface that allows for easier comparison.

Max Zahn, ABC News, 14 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'copy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.