replication

American  

[rep-li-key-shuhn] / ˌrɛp lɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• replications
  plural

1. a reply; answer.

2. a reply to an answer.

3. Law. the reply of the plaintiff or complainant to the defendant's plea or answer.

4. reverberation; echo.

5. a copy.

6. the act or process of replicating, especially for experimental purposes.

7. Genetics. semiconservative replication.

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replication British  

/ ˌrɛplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a reply or response

2. law (formerly) the plaintiff's reply to a defendant's answer or plea

3. biology the production of exact copies of complex molecules, such as DNA molecules, that occurs during growth of living organisms

4. repetition of a procedure, such as a scientific experiment, in order to reduce errors

5. a less common word for replica

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreplication
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• replications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of replication

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English replicacioun, from Middle French replication, from Latin replicātiōn- (stem of replicātiō ) “a rolling back,” equivalent to replicāt(us) + -iōn- suffix forming nouns; see origin at replicate, -ion

Explanation

If you make a copy of something, like a form or a picture, you have made a replication of it. You might need to mail in a replication of your tax forms when you apply for college financial aid. When you conduct an experiment, you have to repeat it several times to verify that your hypothesis is correct. Each repetition is one replication. A witty retort to a comment or question is also called a replication. Your replications to the teacher's questions may make your classmates laugh, but your smart mouth is bound to get you in trouble eventually.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

replication replications

So singular that it all but defies any kind of tea-leaf-reading or, heaven forbid, attempts at replication.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Approval should rest on targeted clinical studies showing comparable therapeutic benefit, not on demonstrating molecular replication of the reference drug, as in the large-molecule biosimilar paradigm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The virus may then use those proteins to support its own replication.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Resuming his polio project after the war, he concluded by the early 1950s that eradication would only be achieved if transmission could be prevented through halting viral replication in the gastrointestinal tract.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

Simon Schaffer’s account of Newton’s experimentum crucis; again, the claim that replication was a social artefact turns out to be false.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Across the board, the project revealed extremely high replicability rates of their social-behavioral findings, and no statistically significant evidence of decline over repeated replications.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2023

Across all 64 replications, 55 found the same effect as the original study—an 86% replication rate.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 8, 2023

Science is cumulative, and replications build its comprehensive and credible body.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 10, 2023

In “MJ,” the Michael Jackson replications and extrapolations by Christopher Wheeldon and others were exciting, sure, but quickly came to feel like a manic distraction from what could not be dramatized.

From New York Times ● May 18, 2022

No more replications or rejoinders, sir, down with the dust.

From Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth

Related Words

• reproduction