copy

1 of 2

verb (1)

copied; copying; copies

transitive verb

1

: 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

2

: to model oneself on

3

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

1

: to make a copy

2

: to undergo copying

the map did not copy well

3

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

paste

2 of 2

verb (2)

pasted; pasting; pastes

transitive verb

1

: to cause to adhere by or as if by paste : stick

pasted the photos into the scrapbook

2

: to cover with something pasted on

The entire wall was pasted with posters.

3

: to put (digital data, such as text or an image) that has been copied or cut from one document or app into another part of the document or into another document or app

paste the image into an email or text

Don't copy and paste recipes out of an existing … blog or website. If you've adjusted an existing recipe, making it your own with significant modifications, be sure to give credit to the source of the original recipe.

—The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington)

Did you know?

We're not talking about adhesives here: the paste of interest here came to be as an alteration of the word baste, which means "to beat severely or soundly." (This baste is unrelated to the two distinct baste homographs that mean "to sew with long stitches" and "to moisten while cooking.") The exact origin of baste is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Old Norse word beysta, meaning "to bruise, thrash, or flog." Baste was first seen in the 16th century, but paste didn't turn up in print until the mid-19th century, and it only recently acquired its "defeat" sense. Baste is now less popular than paste, though its relative lambaste ("to beat" or "to censure") is prevalent.

Synonyms of copy

Verb (1)

• reproduce
• replicate
• render
• duplicate
• imitate

Choose the Right Synonym for copy

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

Examples of copy in a Sentence

Verb (1)

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

With little difference in their policy platforms — Kelloff even claimed Romero copied his — voters will have to look to their backgrounds to decide. —Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 1 June 2026

Former Colorado elections clerk and conspiracy theorist Tina Peters is scheduled to be released from prison Monday after serving less than a quarter of a nine-year sentence for her role in a scheme to copy her county's election system. —ABC News, 1 June 2026

Verb

With buckets of glue in hand, families and friends have taken to pasting images of the victims across the city to make sure they’re not forgotten. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026

New York beat San Antonio in the NBA Cup final in December, narrowly lost at San Antonio 134-132 on New Year’s Eve, and then pasted the Spurs 114-89 in early March — San Antonio’s worst loss of the season. —John Hollinger, New York Times, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Verb (2)

circa 1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing copy

• blind carbon copy
• carbon copy
• Chinese copy
• copy down/out
• copy edit
• copy editor
• copy machine
• fair copy
• good copy
• hard copy
• review copy

Rhymes for copy

• choppy
• floppy
• poppy
• sloppy
• atopy
• photocopy

Kids Definition

copy

1 of 2 noun

ˈkäp-ē 

plural copies

1

: something that is made to look exactly like something else : duplicate

a copy of a letter

a copy of a painting

2

: one of the total number of books, magazines, or papers printed at one time

3

: written or printed material to be set in type

copy

2 of 2 verb

copied; copying

1

: to make a copy : duplicate

2

: imitate sense 1