duplication
Americannoun
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an act or instance of duplicating.
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the state of being duplicated.
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a duplicate.
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Genetics. a type of chromosomal aberration in which a region of the chromosome is repeated.
noun
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the act of duplicating or the state of being duplicated
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a copy; duplicate
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genetics a mutation in which there are two or more copies of a gene or of a segment of a chromosome
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of duplication
1490–1500; (< Anglo-French ) < Latin duplicātiōn- (stem of duplicātiō ), equivalent to duplicāt ( us ) ( see duplicate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A replica or copy of something is a duplication, and the process of making it is also duplication. Duplication of important computer files is always a good idea — that way you have a backup if you accidentally delete something or your laptop malfunctions. The earliest meaning of duplication was "act of doubling," from the Latin duplicare, "to double." By the 1580s, it gained the sense of "an act of making or repeating something essentially the same." Duplication can be as simple as making paper copies (or duplicates) with a Xerox machine, or as complicated as certain genetic processes in which parts of DNA are repeated.
Vocabulary lists containing duplication
It Takes Two: Diplo
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Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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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.
Bassato believes that authorities should remove duplication from the process.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Bosses try to limit duplication through projects to share technologies and components.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Whole-genome duplication has played a major role in plant evolution, helping drive innovation, adaptation, and the emergence of many crop species.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
Fifth, the DNI can set priorities for technical innovations that the other agencies can’t do on their own, at least not without creating a dozen or more different approaches, spawning duplication, unfilled gaps, or both.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2026
One, known only as Klinefelter’s syndrome, involves a duplication of one of the sex chromosomes.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
