Duplicate: Definition, Usage & Key Examples

Meaning 1：make a copy (duplicate)

duplicate 🔊

/ˈdjuːplɪkeɪt/

vt.

To make an exact copy of something, like photocopying a paper or copying a computer file, so you have two identical items.

Duplicate action illustrated: person making a photocopy of a document in a modern office

make a copy 🔊

➕

/meɪk ə ˈkɒpi/

vt.

To produce an identical or very similar version of an original object, document, or digital file.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'du-' (two) + 'plicare' (to fold), literally 'to double'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'two identical pups' that were 'duplicated' from one original puppy.

📖 Example

Before I left the office, I made sure to duplicate the important report on my USB drive. 🔊 Before I left the office, I made sure to make a copy of the important report on my USB drive.

🔗 Collocations

duplicate a file – to create an exact copy of a computer file

duplicate the process – to repeat a procedure exactly to achieve the same result

duplicate a program – to copy software or code for another system or purpose

🔄 Synonyms

copy (vt.) – to make something that is exactly like another thing.

replicate (vt.) – to repeat or reproduce something exactly, often in a scientific or formal context.

reproduce (vt.) – to make a copy or close likeness of something.

🚫 Antonyms

destroy (vt.) – to damage something so severely that it no longer exists or functions.

eliminate (vt.) – to completely remove or get rid of something.

🌱 Derivatives

duplicate (n.) – an exact copy of something.

duplicate (adj.) – identical; exactly like something else.

duplication (n.) – the act or process of duplicating something.

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'duplicatus', past participle of 'duplicare', meaning 'to double'. It literally meant 'folded in two'. This origin directly reflects the core concept of creating a second, identical version from an original.