duplicate

[ noun, adjective doo-pli-kit, dyoo-; verb doo-pli-keyt, dyoo- ]

/ noun, adjective ˈdu plɪ kɪt, ˈdyu-; verb ˈdu plɪˌkeɪt, ˈdyu- /

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noun

a copy exactly like an original.

anything corresponding in all respects to something else.

Cards. a duplicate game.

verb (used with object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

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), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

to become duplicate.

adjective

exactly like or corresponding to something else: duplicate copies of a letter.

consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.

Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.

Nearby words

Idioms

in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies: Please type the letter in duplicate.

Origin of duplicate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre to make double), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex) duplex + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR duplicate

1. facsimile, replica, reproduction. 4. See imitate. 9. twofold.

ANTONYMS FOR duplicate

1. original.

Related forms

du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivenon·du·pli·cat·ing, adjectivenon·du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivepre·du·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·du·pli·cat·ed, pre·du·pli·cat·ing.

qua·si-du·pli·cate, adjectiveself-du·pli·cat·ing, adjectiveun·du·pli·cat·ed, adjectiveun·du·pli·ca·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for duplicative

Many of these proposals are often duplicative and tied to a news event.
The Hottest Constitutional Amendments of 2013|Ben Jacobs|December 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Many of these forms are needed for vital government functions, but others are duplicative, overly complex or obsolete.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006|Various
But it can hardly be said that the duplicative process is of a distinctively grammatical significance in English.
Language|Edward Sapir

British Dictionary definitions for duplicative

duplicate

adjective (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

copied exactly from an original

identical

existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold

noun (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

an exact copy; double

something additional or supplementary of the same kind

two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate)

verb (ˈdjuːplɪˌkeɪt)

(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 partsthe chromosomes duplicated in mitosis

Derived Formsduplicable (ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl), adjectiveduplicability, nounduplicately, adverbduplicative, adjective

Word Origin for duplicate

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012