copyedit
Americanverb (used with object)
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to edit (a manuscript, document, text, etc.) for publication, especially for punctuation, spelling, grammatical structure, style, etc.
-
to copyread.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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copyeditsimple
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copyeditssimple
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have copyeditedperfect
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has copyeditedperfect
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am copyeditingprogressive
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are copyeditingprogressive
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is copyeditingprogressive
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have been copyeditingperfect progressive
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has been copyeditingperfect progressive
Past
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copyeditedsimple
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had copyeditedperfect
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was copyeditingprogressive
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were copyeditingprogressive
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had been copyeditingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of copyedit
First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from copy editor ( def. )
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:
I also pay an editor out of pocket to do an edit between my editor’s edit and the copyedit.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2017
I’m in the middle of a copyedit right now, and during the copyedit stage, I read it aloud.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2017
It was in final copyedit when Judge Scalia died.
From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2017
I never saw a copyedit, and I never noticed the mistake until about two weeks ago, long after the damage was done.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2010
Christi runs the department that copyedits and fact-checks everything we publish, keeps our schedules and deadlines, handles corrections, manages our relationships with our printers, and makes sure every page is of the highest quality.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 15, 2022
My copyedits will be due soon, I tell him, asking for notes on what he’d like to change, fact-check, discuss.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2018
One stack of papers was a copyedited manuscript—basically a printout from a computer file that had been marked up in colored pencil with a bunch of edit marks.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
"However good copyediting, like writing, takes time because you need to think and not curate like AI, which also doesn't understand nuance well because it's curating the data."
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2025
"It’s been widely reported that Wolff’s previous works have been riddled with inaccuracies and copyediting mistakes, and this is no different."
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2025
Everyone was copyediting from whatever location they were at.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2020
“For example, if your friend is laid off and they’re a journalist, they can create a Cubi and say, for example, ‘I do press releases and copyediting.’
From Inc ● Feb. 16, 2010
“Hey, Dad? When you’re copyediting, have you ever noticed the typos spelling out a word?”
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
