mimicry

[ mim-ik-ree ]

/ ˈmɪm ɪk ri /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mimicry ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mim·ic·ries.

the act, practice, or art of mimicking.

Biology. the close external resemblance of an organism, the mimic, to some different organism, the model, such that the mimic benefits from the mistaken identity, as seeming to be unpalatable or harmful.

an instance, performance, or result of mimicking.

Words nearby mimicry

mimetite, mimi, mimic, mimic panel, mimical, mimicry, mimine, miminy-piminy, mimir, mimo, mimosa

Origin of mimicry

First recorded in 1680–90; mimic + -ry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mimicry

Mimicry is an ingenious survival technique, albeit one that is of little use against bulldozers and chainsaws.
Exploring the Amazon, While We Still Can|Darrell Hartman|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But this was an element of Jeff that I understood; his mimicry and his retention for music and melody.
‘Greetings From Tim Buckley’: Penn Badgley on Playing Late Musician Jeff Buckley|Richard Porton|April 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Even the oddities that he portrayed were usually done by some passing bit of mimicry of the individual in question.
The Daltons, Volume I (of II)|Charles James Lever
On the whole it may be stated that the majority of cases of mimicry fall into one or other of such series as the above.
Mimicry in Butterflies|Reginald Crundall Punnett

He attacks with telling effect the fantastic Darwinian "Mimicry."
At the Deathbed of Darwinism|Eberhard Dennert
Terry's voice deepened in mimicry: "'No petticoats for mine!'"
Terry|Charles Goff Thomson
Thus it is quite possible that many so-called cases of mimicry are nothing of the kind.
Birds of the Indian Hills|Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for mimicry

mimicry

/ (ˈmɪmɪkrɪ) /

noun plural -ries

the act or art of copying or imitating closely; mimicking

the resemblance shown by one animal species, esp an insect, to another, which protects it from predators

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

Medicine definitions for mimicry

mimicry

[ mĭm′ĭ-krē ]

n.

The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment and protection.

Science definitions for mimicry

mimicry

[ mĭm′ĭ-krē ]

The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment or protection from predators. See also aggressive mimicry Batesian mimicry Müllerian mimicry.

mimicry

noun, plural mim·ic·ries.

Words related to mimicry

Words nearby mimicry

Origin of mimicry

Examples from the Web for mimicry

British Dictionary definitions for mimicry

noun plural -ries

Medicine definitions for mimicry

n.

Science definitions for mimicry