copy

SayKO-pee/ˈkɑpi/UK/ˈkɒpi/

Pluralcopies

Verbcopies, copying, copied

15 meanings of copy

Practice

1
not the originalnouncountable
Something made to be identical or similar to an original, sometimes an imitation of lower quality.
He kept the original document safe and worked from a copy.
We had a copy of the front door key made for the dog walker.
UsageUsually a copy of something; you make a copy, or have a copy made.
Similarduplicate, replica, reproduction, facsimile, imitation
Oppositeoriginal
Note
John Denham's modesty in 1656, doubting his copy was "equal to the original", shows the pairing that still governs the word: a copy is judged against its original.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Denham's The Destruction of Troy was first published in 1656. celm.folger.edu
John Denham expressed doubt that his copy equalled the original, using the quoted wording in his preface. en.wiktionary.org
2
one booknouncountable
A single printed or digital example of a book, magazine, newspaper, or other publication.
She signed every copy of her memoir at the launch event.
Only three copies of the first edition survive today.
UsageUse a copy of a publication: a copy of today's newspaper, two copies of the book.
3
make identicalverbtransitive
To produce an object that is identical to a given one.
Skilled workers can copy a sculpture down to the smallest detail.
The workshop copied the antique chair using the same materials.
Similarduplicate, replicate, reproduce, clone
4
imitateverbtransitive
To imitate the behavior, style, or appearance of another.
Younger players copy the techniques of the stars they admire.
The artist copied the bold style of earlier masters.
UsageThe object can be a person (stop copying me!) or what they do (copy her style).
Similarimitate, emulate, mimic, ape, follow
Note
Dugald Stewart, in 1793, used it neutrally for how we copy instinctively the voices, accents and pronunciation of our companions.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Stewart's Outlines of Moral Philosophy was first published in 1793. en.wikipedia.org
Dugald Stewart described instinctively copying companions' voices, accents, and pronunciation in a neutral discussion of imitation. upload.wikimedia.org
5
save to memoryverbtransitive
To place a duplicate of an object into memory so it can be used again later.
Copy the selected text and paste it into the document.
The program copied the entire array into a temporary buffer.
UsageUsually paired with paste: copy and paste; the object is the data, such as text or files.
Similarduplicate
Note
Computing gives the verb a two-step grammar: you copy, then paste. Copying leaves the original untouched and temporarily holds a duplicate in memory for pasting somewhere else. That is what distinguishes it from moving data.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Copying preserves the original, unlike moving it. support.microsoft.com
6
text for publishingnoununcountable
Written text prepared for publication or printing, including the text of advertisements.
The author delivered her copy to the publisher weeks before the typesetting began.
Editors trimmed the copy to fit the available space.
UsageOften used in advertising copy, write copy, and edit copy.
Similartext, manuscript
Note
Printers and editors use the word for the words themselves, as distinct from images, layout and design. It has given the trade its job titles: the copy editor, who checks text before publication, and the copywriter behind advertising copy. To edit copy is to work on the text, not on the pictures or the page design around it.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The job title copy editor refers to an editor who prepares copy for publication. en.wiktionary.org
Copywriter derives from copy and writer and denotes someone who writes advertising copy. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

7
hear (radio)verbtransitive or intransitive
To receive and understand a radio or other transmission successfully.
Mission control asked whether the crew could copy the updated coordinates.
The dispatcher said she copied the call and sent a unit right away.
UsageSet phrases: Do you copy? asks if a message came through; Copy on its own means understood.
Similarreceive, understand, hear
Note
Radio procedure turns the verb into a check on reception. "Do you copy?" asks whether the message came through clearly enough to understand, and "copy" on its own serves as the acknowledgment. It means understood, not merely heard. If you detected a signal but could not make it out, the honest answer is that you did not copy.
8
include (email)verbtransitive
To send or pass a copy of something to a particular person.
Remember to copy the whole team on the final report.
He copied his manager on every client update.
UsageThe person is the object, with on: copy me on that email, copy the team on the report.
Similarcc, include
9
geneticsnouncountable
A gene or chromosomal segment produced as the result of genetic or chromosomal duplication.
The mutation leaves the cell with an extra copy of the chromosome.
Researchers counted how many copies of the gene appeared in the tumor samples.
Note
Geneticists treat each instance of a gene or chromosome a cell carries as a countable unit. That is why they speak of an extra copy, or of how many copies appear in a sample. A copy can be present without doing anything: whether it is expressed depends on cell differentiation and epigenetics. Unlike the "imitation" meaning, nothing here implies an inferior copy.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
Instances of genes are counted as copies. medlineplus.gov
Chromosomes are counted as copies, including extra copies. medlineplus.gov
Genetic analyses measure copy numbers in samples. docs.gdc.cancer.gov
A gene can be present without being expressed. medlineplus.gov
Gene expression depends on cell type and differentiation. genome.gov
Epigenetic modifications regulate gene expression. genome.gov
10
exercise booknounIrelandcountable
A pad or workbook used by students for schoolwork and written exercises.
He filled three copies with math problems over the term.
Open your copy to the next blank page and begin the exercise.
Similarnotebook, workbook, jotter
11
nounobsolete
Something set down to be imitated, transcribed, or reproduced; a pattern, model, or example.
Let him first learn to write, after a copy of all the letters.
1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters
His virtues are an excellent copy for imitation.
Note
Here the word points the other way: the copy is the model, not the reproduction. A learner wrote after a copy: William Holder's Elements of Speech (1669) advises that a pupil first learn to write after a copy of all the letters.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
In this sense, copy means the model to be imitated. en.wiktionary.org
William Holder wrote Elements of Speech, published in 1669. wellcomecollection.org
Holder advises that the pupil first learn to write after a copy of the letters. ubwp.buffalo.edu
12
nounarchaic
A standard size of writing paper, synonymous with the size known as bastard.
Note
This is one of the old names for a sheet of fixed size, from the same family as foolscap, demy and crown, and in that trade sense it is synonymous with bastard. It belongs to historical writing about paper and printing.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Copy is an old name for writing paper of a particular size, synonymous with bastard. en.wiktionary.org
Foolscap, demy and crown likewise name traditional paper sizes. en.wikipedia.org
13
nounobsolete
A great abundance or plentiful supply of anything.
[S]he was bleſt with no more Copie of wit, but to ſerue his Humor thus.
1599, Ben Jonson, The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor.
Note
The meaning closest to Latin cōpia survives here. The Latin word was built from co- "together" and ops "wealth", the same root found in opulent. Ben Jonson could still write in 1599 of someone blessed with no more "Copie of wit".
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The abundance sense preserves the meaning of Latin cōpia. en.wiktionary.org
Cōpia ultimately combines co- and ops, through cōps. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin prefix co- conveys togetherness. en.wiktionary.org
Opulent derives from the same Latin ops, meaning wealth. en.wiktionary.org
Every Man Out of His Humour was first published in 1600, as its first-edition title page states; 1599 is its first-performance year. hcmc.uvic.ca
Jonson wrote the quoted phrase about someone's limited supply of wit. hcmc.uvic.ca
14
nounobsolete
Tenure or lease of land held by copyhold.
But in them nature's copy's not eterne
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”
Note
A point of land law sits inside a famous line. Copyhold was land held by copy of the court roll, on terms set by the custom of the manor. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, "nature's copy's not eterne" means that a person's lease on life will expire.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Copyhold was tenure by copy of the court roll. en.wikisource.org
The quoted words occur in Shakespeare's Macbeth. folger.edu
The line uses copyhold as a metaphor for a person's finite lease on life. shakespeare-navigators.ewu.edu
15
noun
A person employed in a newspaper office to carry copy and run errands.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of copy apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 6, 9–14

From Middle English copy, from Old French copie ("abundance; transcript, copy"), from Medieval Latin copia ("reproduction, transcript"), which came from Latin cōpia ("plenty, abundance"), formed from co- ("together") plus ops ("wealth, riches").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

English copy descends from Middle English copy. en.wiktionary.org
The Middle English word comes from Old French copie, meaning abundance, transcript, or copy. en.wiktionary.org
Old French copie comes from Medieval Latin copia, meaning reproduction or transcript, ultimately from Latin cōpia. en.wiktionary.org
Latin cōpia means plenty or abundance. en.wiktionary.org
Latin cōpia ultimately derives from co- and ops. en.wiktionary.org
The prefix co- means together. en.wiktionary.org
Latin ops has the meanings wealth and riches. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3–5, 7–8

Medieval Latin cōpiō and Old French copier both fed into Middle English copien, the source of this word.