duplicate

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

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.

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

Related formsdu·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

Synonyms for duplicate

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

Antonyms for duplicate

1. original.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for duplicative

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of duplicative

But it can hardly be said that the duplicative process is of a distinctively grammatical significance in English.
Language
Edward Sapir
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

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

Word Origin and History for duplicative

adj.

1870; see duplicate (v.) + -ive.

duplicate

adj.

mid-15c., "having two parts, double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare "to double," from duo "two" (see two) + plicare "to fold" see ply (v.1)). Meaning "exactly corresponding, that is an exact copy of" is from 1812.

duplicate

1620s, "to double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare (see duplicate (adj.)). Meaning "make an exact copy" is from 1640s (implied in duplicated). Related: Duplicating. The noun is first recorded 1530s.