duplicate
Americannoun
-
duplicates
plural
-
a copy exactly like an original.
- Synonyms:
- reproduction, replica, facsimile
- Antonyms:
- original
-
anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
-
Cards. a duplicate game.
verb (used with object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
-
to make an exact copy of.
-
to do or perform again; repeat.
He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.
-
to double; make twofold.
verb (used without object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
adjective
-
exactly like or corresponding to something else.
duplicate copies of a letter.
-
consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.
- Synonyms:
- twofold
-
Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.
idioms
adjective
-
copied exactly from an original
-
identical
-
existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold
noun
-
an exact copy; double
-
something additional or supplementary of the same kind
-
two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate )
verb
-
(tr) to make a replica of
-
(tr) to do or make again
-
(tr) to make in a pair; make double
-
(intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical parts
the chromosomes duplicated in mitosis
Synonym Usage
See imitate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
duplicabilitynoun
-
preduplicateverb (used with object)
-
duplicableadjective
-
duplicativeadjective
-
nonduplicatingadjective
-
quasi-duplicateadjective
-
self-duplicatingadjective
-
unduplicatedadjective
-
duplicatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
duplicatesimple
-
duplicatessimple
-
have duplicatedperfect
-
has duplicatedperfect
-
am duplicatingprogressive
-
are duplicatingprogressive
-
is duplicatingprogressive
-
have been duplicatingperfect progressive
-
has been duplicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
duplicatedsimple
-
had duplicatedperfect
-
was duplicatingprogressive
-
were duplicatingprogressive
-
had been duplicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duplicate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre “to make double”), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex ) duplex + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Duplicate describes something that's an exact copy. If you tend to accidentally lock yourself out of your car, it's a good idea to carry a duplicate key with you just in case. The word duplicate is useful when you're talking about a copy of something, like a duplicate of your birth certificate that you keep in a file, or a duplicate driver's license that you apply for after losing the original one. The verb duplicate is pronounced differently, with a long a sound, and it means to make a copy of or to multiply times two. The Latin root, duplicatus, means "to double."
Vocabulary lists containing duplicate
List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"A Walk to the Jetty," Vocabulary from a novel excerpt
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Baldwin said that as soon as residents started reporting their duplicate ballots, elections staffers immediately contacted the vendor, which confirmed the evening of Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
To study the consequences of these abnormalities, Cimini's team manipulated diploid cancer cells so they would duplicate their chromosomes without completing cell division.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
The ECI has rejected allegations of impropriety in the "special intensive revision", saying it was intended to remove duplicate and ineligible voters.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
The Election Commission says it is to remove duplicate and ineligible entries - and so far, 130 million names have been struck off the voters' list.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat? We can have a superb handcrafted job by Wheelright & Carpenter in which every detail of the old animal is faithfully repeated in permanent—”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
According to an ECI breakdown seen by AFP, around 28 million entries were classified as belonging to deceased voters and 10.4 million as duplicates, while millions of others were marked as absent, shifted or untraceable.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
After removing duplicates of stocks in two or more of the groups, our initial list was made up of 523 stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The justice department has said in response that "NOTHING has been deleted", adding that documents were withheld only if they were "duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation".
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
It could withhold files if they are duplicates; fall under attorney-client privilege; could hurt a continuing investigation; or are completely unrelated to the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
She knew I was lying—I could tell because when Dad came in unexpectedly and asked why she was copying the returns, she said the duplicates were for her records.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Supporters say it won’t make any substantive changes, but instead make the rules easier to understand by deleting duplicated language.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Beyond these broad patterns lies enormous individual variation: blood vessels may follow different routes, muscles may be absent or duplicated, and even the folding patterns of the brain differ from person to person.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026
Heartland believes it can reduce 12% of the combined operating expenses through eliminating duplicated overheads, notes analyst Ben Crozier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Its elements have been duplicated, sampled and reimagined so many times that it now exists in countless forms, offering endless ways in.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
It was one of the rooms that had been re-created on the soundstage, and the team was impressed by how well the set designers had duplicated it.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Countries seeking to protect domestic companies are also duplicating efforts, such as building too many different types of armored vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Instead, it can draw on existing mental components, recombine them, and avoid duplicating work, a strategy that current AI systems generally lack.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2025
Guthy had made a living duplicating audiocassettes for medical conferences and real estate professionals selling home study programs who would then turn around and sell them to customers for hundreds of dollars on infomercials.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
The commission says the US company whose system it used maintained that "duplicating a voter on the voter list is impossible, as each voter is registered only once".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2024
And then he added thoughtfully, “We really ought to have a duplicating machine.”
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
