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:
Tyler Perry Studios boasts a replica of the White House, an airport terminal, two baseball fields, a strip mall, a residential neighborhood, and a golf course.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Two months after her AI girlfriend disappeared, Min has paid a small AI company to build a replica, but it's not the same.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Lucas wanted to see a life-size replica of the all-terrain unicycle, so the museum made one, fanged and ferocious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
She was checking people in on the pier for a separate boat tour to Sazan on a replica galleon that advertises the opportunity to “be a pirate for a day.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The elephant is a replica of a drawing her father had done for Gogol over twenty-seven years ago, in the margins of an aerogramme.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Zoe Lee and Hannah Marriott, researchers at Cardiff Business School said AI-generation fashion models and digital twins, virtual replicas of real models are becoming more common.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
A government spokesperson told the BBC that, while "digital replicas can be a powerful tool, including for the creative industries," there was also possibility for harm.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“I can’t answer the question, and Wall Street can’t answer the question,” said Norton, standing in the corner of the room, replicas of fish and birds pinned to the walls behind him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
For the new study, researchers used identical replicas of MOMA's capillary tubes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Since the dawn of the OASIS, thousands of elderly users had come here and painstakingly coded virtual replicas of local arcades they remembered from their childhood, thus making them a permanent part of the museum.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
