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emulate

[ verb em-yuh-leyt; adjective em-yuh-lit ]
/ verb ˈɛm yəˌleɪt; adjective ˈɛm yə lɪt /
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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.
  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.
adjective
Obsolete. emulous.
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Origin of emulate

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

OTHER WORDS FROM emulate

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH emulate

emulate , immolate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to emulate

follow suit, imitate, mimic, mirror, challenge, compete, contend, ditto, do, follow, outvie, rival, make like, take after

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, 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
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