copy
an imitation, reproduction, or transcript of an original: a copy of a famous painting.
one of the various examples or specimens of the same book, engraving, or the like.
written matter intended to be reproduced in printed form: The editor sent the copy for the next issue to the printer.
the text of a news story, advertisement, television commercial, etc., as distinguished from related visual material.
the newsworthiness of a person, thing, or event (often preceded by good or bad): The president is always good copy.: Compare news (def. 4).
Computers. an exact duplicate of a file, program, etc.: Keep a backup copy of the document.
Genetics. replication (def. 7).
Printing. pictures and artwork prepared for reproduction.
British Informal. (in schools) a composition; a written assignment.
British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 16 × 20 inches (40 × 50 centimeters).
Archaic. something that is to be reproduced; an example or pattern, as of penmanship to be copied by a pupil.
to make a copy of; transcribe; reproduce: to copy a set of figures from a book.
to receive and understand (a radio message or its sender).
to follow as a pattern or model; imitate.
Computers. to make an exact duplicate of (a file, selected text, etc.) and store in another location or in temporary memory: Can I copy the program to another computer? Copy the selected paragraph to the clipboard.: Compare cut (def. 25), paste (def. 13).
to make a copy or copies.
to undergo copying: It copied poorly.I can't install the program—one file won't copy.
to hear or receive a radio message, as over a CB radio: Do you copy?
Also cocky. Newfoundland. to leap from one ice pan to another across open water.
Idioms about copy
copy the mail, Citizens Band Radio Slang. mail1 (def. 11).
Origin of copy
1synonym study For copy
Other words for copy
Opposites for copy
Other words from copy
- pre·cop·y, noun, plural pre·cop·ies, verb (used with object), pre·cop·ied, pre·cop·y·ing.
- re·cop·y, verb (used with object), re·cop·ied, re·cop·y·ing.
- un·cop·ied, adjective
- well-cop·ied, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use copy in a sentence
Those copies are read by cellular machinery and used to produce proteins.
Here’s why COVID-19 vaccines like Pfizer’s need to be kept so cold | Tina Hesman Saey | November 20, 2020 | Science NewsDespite bidding, there are no keywords, no extensions and no ad copy to write.
Google Guaranteed badge starting to appear on Google Maps listings | Greg Sterling | November 19, 2020 | Search Engine LandEmails and subject line copy can now be guided by AI and machine learning so that better emails will be created with greater accuracy and in half the time.
Email marketing in 2020: Four key things that made the difference | Toby Nwazor | November 19, 2020 | Search Engine WatchRobinson has been a conservative since a friend loaned him a copy of Rush Limbaugh’s The Way Things Ought to Be.
Two Years Ago, a Factory Worker. Today, a Republican Star | Nick Fouriezos | November 19, 2020 | OzyA digital twin is a copy of a system that can be manipulated to experiment with different outcomes.
Leveraging collective intelligence and AI to benefit society | Jason Sparapani | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
But the dress was its own unapologetic sonic boom—and was immediately much-copied.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress | Tim Teeman | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBored, she dropped the sticker, and another child picked it up and copied her.
Later, after taking his own shirt off in a supposed show of manliness, Dre freaked out when Andre Jr. copied him.
The View was original when it began in the late 1990s, but now it is much-copied.
Unlike the Media burglars, he revealed his identity soon after turning over the files he had copied.
The Domestic Spying of Hoover’s FBI Is an Eerie Prequel to the NSA’s Snooping Today | Betty Medsger | March 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Indian pipe is copied from the Eskimo, as the latter were the first to obtain and use tobacco.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.In England the violin makers in the beginning of the eighteenth century, mostly copied the pattern and model of Steiner.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceInscription copied, Nov. 21, 1833, from a tombstone to a fisherman in Bathford churchyard.
Later Christian scholars face the difficulty by declaring that the Buddhists copied from the Christians.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordHave cabled a very elementary question: "Could not the Japanese bombs be copied in England?"
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for copy
/ (ˈkɒpɪ) /
an imitation or reproduction of an original
a single specimen of something that occurs in a multiple edition, such as a book, article, etc
matter to be reproduced in print
written matter or text as distinct from graphic material in books, newspapers, etc
the words used to present a promotional message in an advertisement
journalism informal suitable material for an article or story: disasters are always good copy
archaic a model to be copied, esp an example of penmanship
(when tr, often foll by out) to make a copy or reproduction of (an original)
(tr) to imitate as a model
(intr) to imitate unfairly
Origin of copy
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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