copy·cat
ˈkä-pē-ˌkat 
often attributive
1
: one who imitates or adopts the behavior or practices of another
2
: an imitative act or product
copycat board games
copycatted; copycatting
: to act as a copycat
Synonyms
Examples of copycat in a Sentence
Noun
She called me a copycat for wearing the same dress.
every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats
Verb
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 on the Web
Graeme Green, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
The Verge estimates the Louisiana bill inspired at least 17 copycat bills, a handful of which are on their way to becoming laws.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Try this copycat fish fillet recipe, this BBQ tofu sandwich recipe or this one from Veggies Don’t Bite, which involves a marinade made of soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup and lime juice.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Hundreds of copycats have emerged since Wordle skyrocketed to internet fame less than three years ago.
—Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
Before Europe’s law even went into effect, and before the full impact of the legislation could be assessed, governments around the globe, from the U.K. to Japan, were rushing to write their own copycat versions of the DMA.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
The Chinese copycat products have APO’s name but not its address.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
Season 1, one of the best, follows a series of vicious present-day copycat murders after an ‘80s Halloween massacre.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2024
These are the technologies used by law enforcement and sometimes criminals to capture phone IDs and trick those phones into connecting to a copycat network, allowing calls and messages to be intercepted.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Krista Simmons, Sunset Magazine, 20 Jan. 2023
And neither of us was that interested in trying to copycat any of the production elements of their songs, anyway.
—Vulture, 18 May 2022
Sometimes, people will copycat what other teams have done.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2022
Park mentioned the case of the Boston Marathon Bomber, in which social media led to misidentification of suspects, and possibly to copycat cases.
—Michael M. Dewitt, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2021
Its new twist on phishing alerts, though, could give it and copycat criminal hackers one more edge in a fight that’s already unfair.
—Brian Barrett, Wired, 14 Oct. 2021
Not to copycat Pittsburgh, but reflect on its incremental success.
—Peter Krouse, cleveland, 30 July 2021
Not surprisingly, copycat digital banks are cropping up in Brazil, and the old-line banks are investing more heavily in technology.
—Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 7 Apr. 2021
Speight compares the replicas to copycat Chanel bags.
—Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 18 Mar. 2021
Noun
Many of the scenes Attenborough has filmed on location, especially his rolling around with gorillas, wouldn’t be allowed today anyway, given safety concerns for the animals as much as insurance concerns for the presenter—and to avoid inspiring copycat behavior from viewers.
—Graeme Green, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
The Verge estimates the Louisiana bill inspired at least 17 copycat bills, a handful of which are on their way to becoming laws.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Try this copycat fish fillet recipe, this BBQ tofu sandwich recipe or this one from Veggies Don’t Bite, which involves a marinade made of soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup and lime juice.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Hundreds of copycats have emerged since Wordle skyrocketed to internet fame less than three years ago.
—Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
Before Europe’s law even went into effect, and before the full impact of the legislation could be assessed, governments around the globe, from the U.K. to Japan, were rushing to write their own copycat versions of the DMA.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
The Chinese copycat products have APO’s name but not its address.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
Season 1, one of the best, follows a series of vicious present-day copycat murders after an ‘80s Halloween massacre.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2024
These are the technologies used by law enforcement and sometimes criminals to capture phone IDs and trick those phones into connecting to a copycat network, allowing calls and messages to be intercepted.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
And that applies to fashion design, decor, and even to the travel industry, where there’s a real tendency to copycat successful ideas.
—Krista Simmons, Sunset Magazine, 20 Jan. 2023
And neither of us was that interested in trying to copycat any of the production elements of their songs, anyway.
—Vulture, 18 May 2022
Sometimes, people will copycat what other teams have done.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2022
Park mentioned the case of the Boston Marathon Bomber, in which social media led to misidentification of suspects, and possibly to copycat cases.
—Michael M. Dewitt, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2021
Its new twist on phishing alerts, though, could give it and copycat criminal hackers one more edge in a fight that’s already unfair.
—Brian Barrett, Wired, 14 Oct. 2021
Not to copycat Pittsburgh, but reflect on its incremental success.
—Peter Krouse, cleveland, 30 July 2021
Not surprisingly, copycat digital banks are cropping up in Brazil, and the old-line banks are investing more heavily in technology.
—Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 7 Apr. 2021
Speight compares the replicas to copycat Chanel bags.
—Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 18 Mar. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'copycat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near copycat
Cite this Entry
“Copycat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copycat. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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