Nearby Words

copycat

[kop-ee-kat] Origin

cop·y·cat

[kop-ee-kat] noun, verb, -cat·ted, -cat·ting.
noun Also, copy cat.
1.
a person or thing that copies, imitates, mimics, or follows the lead of another, as a child who says or does exactly the same as another child.
adjective
2.
imitating or repeating a recent, well-known occurrence: a copycat murder.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Copycat is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to bark; yelp.
verb (used with object)
3.
to imitate or mimic: new domestic wines that copycat the expensive imports.
4.
to copy slavishly; reproduce: The clothes were copycatted straight from designer originals.

Origin:
1895–1900, Americanism; copy + cat1

cop·y·cat·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To copycat
Collins
World English Dictionary
copycat (ˈkɒpɪˌkæt)
 
n
informal
 a.  a person, esp a child, who imitates or copies another
 b.  (as modifier): copycat murders

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

copycat
1896, but in the context of a word the writer's grandmother had used in her day, hence perhaps mid-19c., from copy + cat. As a verb, from 1932.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature