mimicry

noun

mim·​ic·​ry ˈmi-mi-krē 

plural mimicries

1

a

: an instance of mimicking

b

: the action, practice, or art of mimicking

… entertained his family with mimicry and comic skits.

—Cynthia Ozick

2

: a superficial (see superficial sense 2b) resemblance of one organism to another or to natural objects among which it lives that secures it a selective advantage (such as protection from predation)

Examples of mimicry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Op-eds have painted the president’s reverence for traditional design as mere nostalgia that will lead, inevitably, to pastiche and derivative mimicry while stifling innovation. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 12 June 2026

Stop taking it, and the mimicry stops too, kicking off a fairly predictable chain of changes over the days and weeks that follow. —Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 June 2026

Heat mimicries are a dime a dozen at the movies — The Town, Den of Thieves, Crime 101. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 May 2026

Schoenbrun is not going for kicky mimicry here — literalism is not their chief aim. —Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

mimicry

noun

mim·​ic·​ry ˈmim-i-krē 

plural mimicries

1

: the action, art, or an instance of mimicking

2

: a resemblance of one living thing to another or to natural objects among which it lives that gives it an advantage (as concealment or protection from predators)

Medical Definition

mimicry

noun

mim·​ic·​ry ˈmim-i-krē 

plural mimicries

: an instance of mimicking something