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mimic

[mim-ik]
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verb (used with object), mim·icked, mim·ick·ing.
  1. to imitate or copy in action, speech, etc., often playfully or derisively.
  2. to imitate in a servile or unthinking way; ape.
  3. to be an imitation of; simulate; resemble closely.
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noun
  1. a person who mimics, especially a performer skilled in mimicking others.
  2. a copy or imitation of something.
  3. a performer in a mime.
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adjective
  1. imitating or copying something, often on a smaller scale: a mimic battle.
  2. apt at or given to imitating; imitative; simulative.
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Origin of mimic

1580–90; < Latin mīmicus < Greek mīmikós. See mime, -ic
Related formsmim·ick·er, nounun·mim·icked, adjective

Synonyms

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1. follow, mock; impersonate; simulate, counterfeit. 7. mock, simulated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

aperesemblesimulatemirrorfakedoplaycaricaturedittoparrotparodyperformcopyridiculecopycatechoburlesquemimetravestyact

Examples from the Web for mimicking

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • His hands were returning her caresses, mimicking the eager distraction of her own.

    Erik Dorn

    Ben Hecht

  • "You doan' goin' to own no house," answered Conolly, mimicking the boy.

    Old Man Savarin and Other Stories

    Edward William Thomson

  • Let ole Tilty go to blazes with his ole 'all (mimicking Jeffres).

  • Here I am to your rescue, and you reward me with a ‘well’ (mimicking) up to ceiling.

    Semiramis and Other Plays

    Olive Tilford Dargan

  • Yet it would never be claimed that the lizard thought out this mimicking.

    The Log of the Sun

    William Beebe

British Dictionary definitions for mimicking

mimic

verb -ics, -icking or -icked (tr)
  1. to imitate (a person, a manner, etc), esp for satirical effect; apeknown mainly for his ability to mimic other singers
  2. to take on the appearance of; resemble closelycertain flies mimic wasps
  3. to copy closely or in a servile manner
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noun
  1. a person or an animal, such as a parrot, that is clever at mimicking
  2. an animal that displays mimicry
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or using mimicry; imitative
  2. simulated, make-believe, or mock
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Derived Formsmimicker, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin mīmicus, from Greek mimikos, from mimos mime
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 mimicking

mimic

n.

1580s, "a mime," from Latin mimicus, from Greek mimikos "of or pertaining to mimes," from mimos "mime."

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mimic

v.

1680s, from mimic (n.). Related: Mimicked; mimicking.

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mimic

adj.

1590s, from Latin mimicus, from Greek mimikos "of or pertaining to mimes," verbal adjective from mimeisthai "to mimic, imitate, portray by means of imitation" (see mimeograph).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mimicking in Medicine

mimic

(mĭm′ĭk)
v.
  1. To resemble closely; simulate.
  2. To take on the appearance of.
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Related formsmim′ic adj. n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.