noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of replica
First recorded in 1815–25; from Italian: “reply, repetition,” derivative of replicare “to repeat” from Late Latin replicāre “to reply ”
Explanation
A replica of something is a close — sometimes exact — likeness. The "Mona Lisa" that you bought at the department store is not the original but a replica of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Sorry, but you can always take it back. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, a replica is pure adulation. Someone creating a replica is creating an imitation of the original. The word first appeared in 17th-century Italy, taking its meaning from the word replicare, "to reply or repeat," as used in music. In time, it came to mean a copy, often of a work of art. In a stricter sense, the word refers to a copy created or supervised by the artist of the original work.
Vocabulary lists containing replica
Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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A Single Shard
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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:
Their replica shirts cost £55, but Spirit have already exhausted the supply they had earmarked for both 2026 and 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Other L.A. souvenirs included a replica bandshell from the Hollywood Bowl and a tiny pagoda from the Chinese Theatre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Constructing an accurate, full-scale replica involves far more than enlarging a drawing or arranging generic bones into a dramatic pose.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Spain fans swarmed around Madison Square Garden with one clutching a replica trophy.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
The girl wears a small replica of my pink dress, made from the camellia's petals.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
The actors’ guild SAG-AFTRA in June ratified a new four-year contract with special protections against synthetic performers, and the union has backed a national bill designed to protect individuals from unauthorized, AI-generated digital replicas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
One raid involved 1,618 fake strips being taken from a warehouse in Birmingham, including replicas of star players such as France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Mars researchers figured out how to deliver convincing replicas of its red, orange and yellow candies using natural ingredients like beets and turmeric.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
"The project will enable the production of scientifically accurate replicas for museums, classrooms and educational programs, helping to raise awareness and support conservation efforts for a species now teetering on the edge of extinction."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
Dupont, after all, would not have known who had been given the replicas of the diamond; he had no insight into the last-second safeguards of the museum.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
