emulate

[ verb em-yuh-leyt; adjective em-yuh-lit ]

/ verb ˈɛm yəˌleɪt; adjective ˈɛm yə lɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: emulate / emulated / emulates / emulating on Thesaurus.com

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR emulate

1 follow, copy.

See synonyms for emulate on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of emulate

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin aemulātus, past participle of aemulārī “to rival”; see emulous, -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM emulate

em·u·la·tive, adjectiveem·u·la·tive·ly, adverbem·u·la·tor, nounnon·em·u·la·tive, adjective

o·ver·em·u·late, verb (used with object), o·ver·em·u·lat·ed, o·ver·em·u·lat·ing.un·em·u·la·tive, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH emulate

emulate , immolate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use emulate in a sentence

He appears determined to emulate not just Brady’s work habits, but his unquenchable pursuit of multiple titles, and ability to drag an entire franchise along for the quest.
Patrick Mahomes has unmatched physical gifts. His intellect might be what sets him apart.|Sally Jenkins|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Because of that, whoever wins will invariably sketch a blueprint for the rest of the league to follow — as difficult as each build might be to emulate.
There’s More Than One Way To Build A Super Bowl Team|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|February 2, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
The unknown attackers are targeting select users of NoxPlayer, a software package that emulates the Android operating system on PCs and Macs.
New supply chain attack uses poisoned updates to infect gamers’ computers|Dan Goodin|February 1, 2021|Ars Technica
Tyson leaves behind not just a body of performances but a way of being, of living in the world, that it would do us all good to emulate.
Cicely Tyson Didn't Just Open Doors—She Opened Whole Worlds|Stephanie Zacharek|January 29, 2021|Time

Goethe grasped antiquity in the right way · invariably with an emulative soul.
We Philologists, Volume 8 (of 18)|Friedrich Nietzsche
The result is that the instinct of workmanship works out in an emulative demonstration of force.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
This is especially true if his dominant impulses are the unreflecting emulative propensities of the predaceous temperament.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
But after all allowances and deductions have been made, there is left some remainder of motives of a non-emulative kind.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
His emulative practice of his art asks for a closer consideration than that usually given to it.
Oscar Wilde|Arthur Ransome

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, noun

Word 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

emulate

OTHER WORDS FOR emulate

Origin of emulate

OTHER WORDS FROM emulate

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH emulate

Words related to emulate

How to use emulate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for emulate

Derived forms of emulate

Word Origin for emulate