identical
Americanadjective
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Also called: numerically identical. being one and the same individual
Cicero and Tully are identical
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Also called: quantitatively identical. exactly alike, equal, or agreeing
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designating either or both of a pair of twins of the same sex who developed from a single fertilized ovum that split into two Compare fraternal
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of identical
First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin identic(us) identic + -al 1
Compare meaning
How does identical compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you're looking for exact replicas, don't waste your time on snowflakes or fingerprints; no two are identical, or exactly the same. Great mind may think alike, but they'll never be identical. Twins, on the other hand, very well may be — if they've come from the same split embryo that is. It makes sense then, that the word identical has linguistic roots in the Latin word idem, meaning "the same."
Vocabulary lists containing identical
Measurement and Data, List 1
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List 3
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Measurement and Data
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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.
Identical sales, or sales of stores open at least five quarters, were up 2.4%, which missed the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of 2.5% growth.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026
Identical sales, or those from stores and digital channels open for at least a year, rose 2.6%, excluding volatile fuel sales.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Identical twins were much more similar in terms of how fussy or adventurous they tended to be with food than non-identical ones - suggesting a strong genetic component.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024
Identical meals can produce widely varying blood sugar responses in different people, depending on one's sex, as well as genetics, sedentariness and the gut microbiome.
From Salon • Aug. 20, 2024
Identical twins—but not in piddling twos and threes as in the old vivip-arous days, when an egg would sometimes accidentally divide; actually by dozens, by scores at a time.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
