emulate
[ verb em-yuh-leyt; adjective em-yuh-lit ]
/ verb ˈɛm yəˌleɪt; adjective ˈɛm yə lɪt /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object), em·u·lat·ed, em·u·lat·ing.
to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass: to emulate one's father as a concert violinist.
to rival with some degree of success: Some smaller cities now emulate the major capitals in their cultural offerings.
Computers.
- 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.
- to replace (software) with hardware to perform the same task.
adjective
Obsolete. emulous.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of emulate
OTHER WORDS FROM emulate
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH emulate
emulate , immolateDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use emulate in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for emulate
emulate
/ (ˈɛmjʊˌleɪt) /
verb (tr)
to attempt to equal or surpass, esp by imitation
to rival or compete with
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
Derived forms of emulate
emulative, adjectiveemulatively, adverbemulator, nounWord Origin for emulate
C16: from Latin aemulārī, from aemulus competing with; probably related to imitārī to imitate
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