emulate

American  

[em-yuh-leyt, em-yuh-lit] / ˈɛm yəˌleɪt, ˈɛm yə lɪt /

verb (used with object)

emulated, emulating

1. to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass.

   to emulate one's father as a concert violinist.

   Synonyms:

   copy, follow

2. to rival with some degree of success.

   Some smaller cities now emulate the major capitals in their cultural offerings.

3. Computers.

   1. to imitate (a particular computer system) by using a software system, often including a microprogram or another computer that enables it to do the same work, run the same programs, etc., as the first.

   2. to replace (software) with hardware to perform the same task.

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adjective

1. Obsolete. emulous.

emulate British  

/ ˈɛmjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. to attempt to equal or surpass, esp by imitation

2. to rival or compete with

3. to make one computer behave like (another different type of computer) so that the imitating system can operate on the same data and execute the same programs as the imitated system

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Other Word Forms

• emulative adjective
• emulatively adverb
• emulator noun
• nonemulative adjective
• overemulate verb (used with object)
• unemulative adjective

Etymology

Origin of emulate

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin aemulātus, past participle of aemulārī “to rival”; emulous, -ate ¹

Explanation

When you emulate someone, you imitate them, especially with the idea of matching their success. When someone is impressive because of their great skills, brains, strength, or accomplishments, others will emulate them. To emulate is to imitate and model yourself after someone. People emulate role models — people they want to be like. After Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, player after player tried to emulate Jordan's game and success. It's hard to be as good as someone like that, but having a hero to emulate can be helpful in many areas of life.

Example Sentences

It would take Close 15 years to emulate her hero by winning a title.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Aspiring to emulate a talkshow host who has a reputation for being affable rather than for setting pulses racing is perhaps an unusual ambition for a gaming studio.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

If Nvidia can emulate that, shareholders will be rewarded, even though it’s not quite the explosive gains of yesteryear.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

“With any kind of viral aesthetic: one of those books did well, so they engineered every cover to emulate that, because people were drawn to them,” says Cash.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

The following day I went up to Harlem, an area that had assumed legendary proportions in my mind since the 1950s when I watched young men in Soweto emulate the fashions of Harlem dandies.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• follow suit
• imitate
• mimic
• mirror