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
- nonduplication noun
- preduplication noun
- self-duplication noun
- superduplication noun
Etymology
Origin of duplication
1490–1500; (< Anglo-French ) < Latin duplicātiōn- (stem of duplicātiō ), equivalent to duplicāt ( us ) ( 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.
This creates short-term duplication and confusion at best — and mid- to long-term losses, at worst.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Their widespread presence suggests that the original gene duplication occurred before the last universal common ancestor emerged.
From Science Daily • Feb. 10, 2026
The plan to reduce the number of forces is driven by a desire to reduce duplication, and to reduce the huge disparities in performance between forces.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026
If anything, some transfers will reduce interdepartment duplication.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
But the duplication was only for these few hours.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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.
