copy

noun \ ˈkä-pē \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of copy

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 1a

a copy of a computer file

a copy of a gene

See copy defined for English-language learners

See copy defined for kids

Examples of copy in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of copy from the Web

The other copy of that first meal belonged to Fifth Officer Harold Lowe.

— chris ciaccia, Fox News, "Titanic stunner: Menu from first meal served on doomed ocean liner up for auction," 13 Apr. 2018
Before the publishing workflows converged, content-management software for newspapers and magazines had to work with older systems for copy and layout, which couldn’t be disrupted for some newfangled website.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "The Dot-Coms Were Better Than Facebook," 13 Apr. 2018
Conceptually, this is not too dissimilar from how traditional vinyl is made — a needle etches grooves in rotating lacquer, which is used to create a mother copy that is then used to form the stamper.

— dani deahl, The Verge, "New ‘high definition’ vinyl promises longer playing time and louder, clearer audio," 12 Apr. 2018
Goggin, the show’s creator, has donated copies of the national cast recording to the Playhouse, which is selling them for $10 apiece at the box-office window.

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Nunsense' carries on preaching its insipid fun," 12 Apr. 2018
Since 1950, 91 million copies of her books have been sold in 25 different languages worldwide.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "Living Legend Beverly Cleary Turns 102 Today!," 12 Apr. 2018
But at the end of the day, Sow’s name still appears in the physical copies of the book’s first printing.

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "Aminatou Sow Says Sally Kohn Misquoted Her in Her Book," 12 Apr. 2018
The board keeps copies of building plans for properties built near the levees.

— susan langenhennig, NOLA.com, "Outdoors, indoors? Every room has best of both in this Lakeshore mid-century modern gem," 11 Apr. 2018
Legislation approved by the Assembly would require social media platforms to track all political ads, keep copies of them and record which users are being targeted.

— erin cox, baltimoresun.com, "These are the highlights of the 2018 Maryland General Assembly session," 10 Apr. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of copy

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

copy Synonyms

Synonyms

carbon, carbon copy, clone, dummy, dupe, duplicate, duplication, facsimile, imitation, mock, reduplication, replica, replication, reproduction;

Antonyms

archetype, original, prototype;

miniature, mock-up, simulation;

reconstruction, re-creation;

image, likeness, semblance, shadow;

impression, imprint, print;

approximation, reincarnation, version;

extra, reserve, spare;

Synonym Discussion of copy

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

copy

verb

Definition of copy

copied; copying

transitive verb

1 : to make a copy or duplicate of

copy a document

copy a computer file

2 : to model oneself on

intransitive verb

1 : to make a copy

2 : to undergo copying

the map did not copy well

See copy defined for English-language learners

Examples of copy in a Sentence

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 of copy from the Web

Despite this, in the late 40s after the war, white TV actors took to copying the look and branding it as their own.

— eman bare, Teen Vogue, "Cardi B's New Fashion Nova Collection Proves Fashion's Power Dynamics Are Shifting," 12 Apr. 2018
Just like the earlier controversy - over scoring of essays on third grade reading tests - these errors also center on how computers penalize students for supposedly copying too much text from questions and test passages into their essay answers.

— patrick o'donnell, cleveland.com, "Computers mis-grade 5,300 state tests after programming error by American Institutes for Research," 6 Apr. 2018
The Democrats' plan would prevent Oregon from copying into state law a new federal business tax break that's part of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans' tax overhaul.

— hillary borrud, OregonLive.com, "Kate Brown calls for special session to extend business tax break," 6 Apr. 2018
Over the weekend, Diet Prada (@diet_prada), Aimee Song (@SongofStyle), and Irene Kim (@Ireneisgood) posted Instagram Stories and posts accusing Sally Hansen of copying Park’s work.

— kathleen hou, The Cut, "Instagram Influencers Accuse American Brand of Copying Korea’s Biggest Nail Artist," 3 Apr. 2018
The minds behind Stranger Things are being accused of copying a filmmaker’s original idea.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Stranger Things Creators Sued for Allegedly Ripping off Filmmaker's Idea for Hit Netflix Series," 3 Apr. 2018
And OnePlus has never shied away from copying Apple’s latest trends.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "OnePlus 6 specs revealed: Snapdragon 845, 256GB of storage to go with its notch," 3 Apr. 2018
Successful tank jobs by the Cubs and Astros, the last two World Series champions, gave other owners the bright idea of copying the blueprint.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "This was MLB's slowest-moving free-agent market in years. Was it a trend or a blip?," 26 Mar. 2018
Don't click links in your email and instead copy/paste URLs.

— CBS News, "What you need to know about Facebook & Cambridge Analytica," 20 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of copy

14th century

copy Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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, slavish, 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

COPY Defined for English Language Learners

copy

noun

Definition of copy for English Language Learners

: something that is or looks exactly or almost exactly like something else : a version of something that is identical or almost identical to the original
: one of the many books, magazines, albums, DVDs, etc., that are exactly the same and are produced to be sold or given to the public
: written information that is to be published in a newspaper, magazine, etc.

copy

verb

Definition of copy for English Language Learners

: to make a version of (something) that is exactly or almost exactly like the original : to make a copy or duplicate of (something)
: to write (something) down exactly as it appears somewhere else
: to use (someone else's words or ideas) as your own

COPY Defined for Kids

copy

noun \ ˈkä-pē \

Definition of copy for Students

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

She owns a copy of a popular atlas.

3 : written material to be published

copy

verb

Definition of copy for Students

copied; copying

1 : to make a duplicate of

2 : imitate 1

Synonym Discussion of copy

copy, imitate, and mimic mean to make something so that it resembles something else. copy means trying to duplicate a thing as much as possible.

- Copy this drawing exactly.

imitate means that a person uses something as an example but does not try to make an exact copy.

- They imitated the actions of their parents.

mimic means carefully copying something (as a person's voice) often for the purpose of making fun of it.

- The comedian mimicked a popular singer.

Learn More about copy

See words that rhyme with copy Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for copy Spanish Central: Translation of copy Nglish: Translation of copy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of copy for Arabic speakers

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copy

Definition of copy

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Origin and Etymology of copy

copy Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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copy

Definition of copy

Examples of copy in a Sentence

Recent Examples of copy from the Web

First Known Use of copy

copy Synonyms

Synonyms

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Phrases Related to COPY

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COPY Defined for English Language Learners

copy

Definition of copy for English Language Learners

copy

Definition of copy for English Language Learners

COPY Defined for Kids

copy

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copy

Definition of copy for Students

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