copycat

noun, often attributive copy·cat \ ˈkä-pē-ˌkat \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: copycat in a Sentence

Definition of copycat

1 : one who imitates or adopts the behavior or practices of another

2 : an imitative act or product

copycat board games

See copycat defined for English-language learners

See copycat defined for kids

Examples of copycat in a Sentence

She called me a copycat for wearing the same dress.
every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats

Recent Examples of copycat from the Web

The biotech last year filed a lawsuit against a Russian company called Nativa to ban production and sales of a copycat version.

— ed silverman, STAT, "A Russian court grants a compulsory license for a best-selling Celgene drug," 10 July 2018
Look for those kind of copycat conversations to gain more traction after the Uruguay-France game, especially if the winner moves on to the final.

— brian straus, SI.com, "Quarterfinal Stage a Narrative Tipping Point for World Cup Contenders," 5 July 2018
To that end, skip adding toppings to your fries, or at least avoid the In-N-Out copycat with special sauce and cheddar.

— zoe sayler, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s veggie burgers: Eating your vegetables never tasted this good," 3 July 2018
In the early days of rock ’n’ roll, copycat performers were plentiful in black music circles.

— jeff maysh, Smithsonian, "The Counterfeit Queen of Soul," 28 June 2018
Ultimately, the shelter weeded out the copycats and determined none of the claims were credible.

— sonali kohli, latimes.com, "Chubbs the cat, internet sensation, got adopted. But other cute fat cats need homes too," 20 June 2018
Soon, other dockless bike share companies popped up: Chinese copycat Mobike, bankrolled by Alibaba rival Tencent, claims to be the world's biggest dockless operator.

— mark harris, WIRED, "The Bike Share War Is Shaking Up Seattle Like Nowhere Else," 14 June 2018
Image HONG KONG — Once derided as a technology backwater and copycat, China is justifiably proud of its technology boom.

— New York Times, "ZTE’s Near-Collapse May Be China’s Sputnik Moment," 10 June 2018
These fears can be magnified by warnings about copycat suicides after celebrity deaths.

— NBC News, "How can we help prevent suicides? Ask and listen, doctors say," 8 June 2018

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

First Known Use of copycat

1896

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

copycat Synonyms

Synonyms

aper, copyist, echo, follower, imitator, rubber stamp, wannabe (also wannabee);

Related Words

parrot;

ape, emulator, impersonator, impressionist, mimic;

copycat

verb

Definition of copycat

copycatted; copycatting

intransitive verb

: to act as a copycat

transitive verb

: imitate

Examples of copycat in a Sentence

asked her stylist to copycat a hairstyle from the magazine
a performer who slavishly copycats another never rises to the level of true stardom

Recent Examples of copycat from the Web

Wentz’s impact is obvious, and Roseman’s moves influenced the Bears to copycat him with a similarly heavy commitment to the position a year later (bringing in Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez and then Mitch Trubisky).

— albert breer, SI.com, "Cleveland Browns Won’t Be Starting From Scratch in Evaluating the Draft’s Top Quarterbacks," 25 Jan. 2018
Now that the company is public, however, all eyes are on Snap to show huge growth, especially as Facebook’s (fb, +0.23%) competing Instagram service consistently debuts copycat features and tries to steal users.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "After Rocky Year, CEO Evan Spiegel Is Still Happy Snap Went Public," 16 Feb. 2018
These individual cases, then, could not be attributed to copycat behavior.

— susan scutti, CNN, "The woman who sweats blood from her palms and her face," 24 Oct. 2017
This copycat approach to investing has led to crushing losses for people tantalized by astronomical gains in the past.

— gail marksjarvis, chicagotribune.com, "Why investors should be wary of bitcoin," 31 Aug. 2017
For now, police vans serve as deterrents to copycat assaults until Barcelona installs protective barriers.

— jeannette neumann, WSJ, "In Barcelona, Crowds March Defiantly for Peace After Terrorist Attacks," 26 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of copycat

1926

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

copycat Synonyms

COPYCAT Defined for English Language Learners

copycat

noun

Definition of copycat for English Language Learners

: a person who does the same thing as someone else : a person who adopts the behavior, style, etc., of someone else
: something that is very similar to another thing