duplicate
Americannoun
-
duplicates
plural
-
a copy exactly like an original.
- Synonyms:
- reproduction, replica, facsimile
- Antonyms:
- original
-
anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
-
Cards. a duplicate game.
verb (used with object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
-
to make an exact copy of.
-
to do or perform again; repeat.
He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.
-
to double; make twofold.
verb (used without object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
adjective
-
exactly like or corresponding to something else.
duplicate copies of a letter.
-
consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.
- Synonyms:
- twofold
-
Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.
idioms
adjective
-
copied exactly from an original
-
identical
-
existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold
noun
-
an exact copy; double
-
something additional or supplementary of the same kind
-
two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate )
verb
-
(tr) to make a replica of
-
(tr) to do or make again
-
(tr) to make in a pair; make double
-
(intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical parts
the chromosomes duplicated in mitosis
Synonym Usage
See imitate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
duplicabilitynoun
-
preduplicateverb (used with object)
-
duplicableadjective
-
duplicativeadjective
-
nonduplicatingadjective
-
quasi-duplicateadjective
-
self-duplicatingadjective
-
unduplicatedadjective
-
duplicatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
duplicatesimple
-
duplicatessimple
-
have duplicatedperfect
-
has duplicatedperfect
-
am duplicatingprogressive
-
are duplicatingprogressive
-
is duplicatingprogressive
-
have been duplicatingperfect progressive
-
has been duplicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
duplicatedsimple
-
had duplicatedperfect
-
was duplicatingprogressive
-
were duplicatingprogressive
-
had been duplicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duplicate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre “to make double”), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex ) duplex + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Duplicate describes something that's an exact copy. If you tend to accidentally lock yourself out of your car, it's a good idea to carry a duplicate key with you just in case. The word duplicate is useful when you're talking about a copy of something, like a duplicate of your birth certificate that you keep in a file, or a duplicate driver's license that you apply for after losing the original one. The verb duplicate is pronounced differently, with a long a sound, and it means to make a copy of or to multiply times two. The Latin root, duplicatus, means "to double."
Vocabulary lists containing duplicate
List 1
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"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
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"A Walk to the Jetty," Vocabulary from a novel excerpt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The popularity of the item has led to duplicate and counterfeit squishy toys being sold online and in shops and stalls.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The bill may also contain coding errors, duplicate charges or costs that should have been covered.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
A stage adaptation can’t duplicate the way Lumet visually distilled the rough-and-tumble New York zeitgeist of the tumultuous early 1970s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
The extra disclosure would duplicate existing reporting by the company, Manifold wrote in a statement on the company website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
The next day, the protesters returned with a duplicate banner.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Other names are probably duplicates, the government says, while some people may have gone off the grid voluntarily for personal reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
The justice department has said in response that "NOTHING has been deleted", adding that documents were withheld only if they were "duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation".
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
It could withhold files if they are duplicates; fall under attorney-client privilege; could hurt a continuing investigation; or are completely unrelated to the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
“Before you go out and shop, check all the cupboards,” she said, to avoid buying duplicates.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 25, 2026
Everywhere I look I see duplicates of the so-called perfect pattern.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
The two studio lots also boast dozens of soundstages; century-old fortresses that would not be easily duplicated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
They uncovered thousands of structural variants, including DNA segments that had been duplicated, deleted, or rearranged.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Its first director, John Negroponte, quickly hired hundreds of people who duplicated the job of the analytical side of the CIA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Nevertheless, some of the works involved are "especially popular and duplicated many times online", making it difficult to exclude them completely from training data.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
So working out DNA’s chemical structure might be the essential step in learning how genes duplicated.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Countries seeking to protect domestic companies are also duplicating efforts, such as building too many different types of armored vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Instead, it can draw on existing mental components, recombine them, and avoid duplicating work, a strategy that current AI systems generally lack.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2025
Having two organisations often duplicating work, they say, led to wasted time and needless costs.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
The Rams’ defense, led by cornerback Cobie Durant, forced four turnovers against the Raiders, a performance that it must come close to duplicating against a Vikings team coached by Sean McVay protegé Kevin O’Connell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
Day and night, they printed thousands of new, even bolder, leaflets on a hand-cranked duplicating machine, possibly purchased with the money Sophie asked to borrow from Fritz.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
