noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of replica
First recorded in 1815–25; from Italian: “reply, repetition,” derivative of replicare “to repeat” from Late Latin replicāre “to reply ”
Explanation
A replica of something is a close — sometimes exact — likeness. The "Mona Lisa" that you bought at the department store is not the original but a replica of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Sorry, but you can always take it back. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, a replica is pure adulation. Someone creating a replica is creating an imitation of the original. The word first appeared in 17th-century Italy, taking its meaning from the word replicare, "to reply or repeat," as used in music. In time, it came to mean a copy, often of a work of art. In a stricter sense, the word refers to a copy created or supervised by the artist of the original work.
Vocabulary lists containing replica
Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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A Single Shard
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The credit card itself, which doesn’t charge an annual fee, looks like a replica of a trading card, with cardholders able to pick from some 500 designs featuring athletes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
However, the statement referred to the artifact as "a replica of the Eisenhower globe" and the Washington Post report as an "inconsequential non-story."
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Other than the missing 23 carats of diamonds, the replica Super Bowl LVI rings fans received on Sunday at SoFi Stadium looked like the real thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
On another occasion, Pillinger loaded a Beagle 2 replica into a supermarket trolley and wheeled it around The Open University's car park, demonstrating its compact size to cameras.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Deciphering tricks, technical diagrams, even two of their replica Enigma machines.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
They hung replicas of “predator” eyes in pigeon hotspots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Indian authorities have built replicas of the huts to get their athletes used to living in them.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The latest agreement, signed in June, introduced limits on studios’ use of digital replicas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Their proximity also makes the Tellus Science Museum an especially fitting home for one of the first Deinosuchus fossil replicas.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Min made five replicas of the melon-shaped vase.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
