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.
"Without an independent, locally rooted voice to challenge and represent communities, there is a risk of duplication and gaps in accountability," the LGA said.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
The team focused on two major causes of whole genome duplication: cytokinesis failure and mitotic slippage.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
“The controller needs to play a role in mediating or liaising between the two to ensure that there is not duplication of efforts,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
“Many of these businesses have strong underlying fundamentals but we believe have been constrained by duplication, overhead, and complexity,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
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.
