copy

1 of 2

noun

ˈkä-pē 

plural copies

1

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

2

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

also : an individual example of such a reproduction

3

archaic : something to be imitated : model

4

a

: matter to be set especially for printing

b

: something considered printable or newsworthy

—used without an article

remarks that make good copy

—Norman Cousins

c

: text especially of an advertisement

5

: duplicate sense 1a

a copy of a computer file

a copy of a gene

copy

2 of 2

verb

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

Synonyms

Noun

• reproduction
• replica

Verb

• reproduce
• replicate
• render
• duplicate
• imitate

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

Examples of copy in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

American Heart Debuts at No. 1 Luminate reports that in its first seven days of availability in the country, American Heart sold 30,000 copies. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025

His 1806 map does not have street names, but a copy kept with the Library of Congress shows numerical markings below all but one of the streets running perpendicular to the Ohio River. —Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 5 July 2025

Verb

Geraghty told the foundation that Dohn's comprehensive instruction plan for the 2024-25 school year was late because Davenport was the only Dohn employee copied on those reminder emails. —Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025

The Anthropic Case The first decision, issued in June, involved a lawsuit by three book authors, who alleged that Anthropic PBC infringed the authors’ copyrights by copying several of their books (among millions of others) to train its text generative AI system called Claude. —Dale Nelson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English copie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin copia, from Latin, abundance — more at copious

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

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

Phrases Containing copy

• blind carbon copy
• carbon copy
• Chinese copy
• copy and paste
• 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