replicate
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
-
replicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
replicated,
past participle, past
-
replicating
present participle
-
to bend or fold back.
a replicated leaf.
-
to repeat, duplicate, or reproduce, especially for experimental purposes.
We were unable to replicate the same results in the field.
-
Genetics. (of a cell) to make a copy of (its DNA).
The cell replicates its DNA to begin the process of cell division.
verb (used without object)
-
replicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
replicated,
past participle, past
-
replicating
present participle
noun
verb
-
(also intr) to make or be a copy of; reproduce
-
to fold (something) over on itself; bend back
-
to reply to
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
replicatesimple
-
replicatessimple
-
have replicatedperfect
-
has replicatedperfect
-
am replicatingprogressive
-
are replicatingprogressive
-
is replicatingprogressive
-
have been replicatingperfect progressive
-
has been replicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
replicatedsimple
-
had replicatedperfect
-
was replicatingprogressive
-
were replicatingprogressive
-
had been replicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of replicate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin replicātus, past participle of replicāre “to fold back”; see re-, ply 2, -ate 1
Explanation
Did you just figure out how to make that excellent pizza you had in Philadelphia? Then what you’ve done is replicate it, meaning you’ve been able to reproduce it. The word replicate carries different shades of meaning, but it generally involves repeating something. Students of biology will know that the word is often used to indicate that an exact duplicate has been made, such as chromosomes that replicate themselves. It can also be used in an unscientific sense to mean that something has been done again to match or repeat an earlier outcome, such as a political group that works to replicate a successful campaign.
Vocabulary lists containing replicate
NAEP Test Words
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Florida EOC Biology 1
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The Bluest Eye
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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:
It is not as easy to replicate this dynamic with stock-market investing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
"We have engineering capabilities, we have software and AI capabilities, robotics capabilities -- it is a great combination that would be hard to replicate somewhere else."
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
An organization’s accumulated ability to learn and adapt is hardest for competitors to replicate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
However, some people - for example those who are unable so speak properly because of illness - have welcomed technology that can replicate a person's voice.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Other studies have not been able to replicate even the 15-minute bump in IQ.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Coffin replicates Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 “The Great Train Robbery,” often considered one of the first films that used editing for storytelling — and one of the first action movies ever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
England boss Thomas Tuchel has put an emphasis on wanting to play football that replicates the style that is played in the Premier League.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
No. The virus replicates more slowly and appears to be less deadly than the more common Zaire ebolavirus, according to studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Infected rodents don’t get symptoms, but the virus replicates in their cells.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
Fixers were designed to replicate under strictly regulated conditions, but the damaged Fixer replicates uncontrollably, at an exponential rate, using whatever materials are at hand.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
“These are assets with qualities that cannot be replicated by technology,” the homepage reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Freud speculated that the “oceanic feeling” of religious ardor replicated the love that infants feel for their mothers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Thrive Eternal, which focuses on assets that can’t be replicated by technology, bought a stake in Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
That door was so damaged that it couldn't be salvaged, Cardoso said, so it was replicated.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
No one, as far as we know, replicated his experiments.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
One of autonomous flight's biggest challenges is replicating a pilot's ability to spot and maneuver safely around other aircraft and obstacles, and there is virtually no margin for error.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Robert and Michelle King return to the network and territory of their acclaimed series “The Good Wife” with this Silicon Valley-based legal dramedy, replicating that show’s mix of quirk, current events and courtroom nail-biters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
By replicating the action of this hormone, GLP-1 drugs have proven highly effective at managing type 2 diabetes and promoting weight loss.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
He has issued numerous written statements on policy matters but is far from replicating the one-man rule of his father.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Ever since, they have maintained themselves and their ways, replicating in their own fashion, privately, with their own DNA and RNA quite different from ours.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
