Meaning of copycat in English

copycat

noun [ C ]

/ˈkɑː.pi.kæt/ uk

/ˈkɒp.i.kæt/

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disapproving

someone who is influenced by someone else and does or says exactly the same as them:

You're just a copycat!

Whether it is the original attacker or a copycat, he must be caught soon.

Synonym

imitator

something that is intentionally done or made to be very similar to something else:

Many of the drugs licensed in the last decade have been copycats of already existing medicines.

The website has become so influential that last month the government launched its own copycat.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Copying and copies

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Similar and the same

copycat

adjective

/ˈkɑː.pi.kæt/ uk

/ˈkɒp.i.kæt/

Copycat behavior, often bad or criminal behavior, is influenced by other, similar behavior:

I don't believe that these cartoons lead to copycat violence.

copycat murders

The lawsuit may encourage copycat claims by other investors.

intentionally done or made to be very similar to something else:

You can buy copycat designer handbags and perfumes there.

This was the first time that health watchdogs had approved a copycat version of a biotech drug.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

looking or being almost but not exactly the same

similarI have a sofa really similar to yours.
likeShe's a lot like her mother.
alikeThe girls look alike.
closeMy cousin and I are quite close in age.
something likeI was worried something like this would happen.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Copying and copies

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Crime - general words

Similar and the same

copycat

verb [ I or T ]

us/ˈkɑː.pi.kæt/ uk/ˈkɒp.i.kæt/

to intentionally do the same thing as someone else has done, or make something very similar to something else:

The restaurants that are succeeding today are those that are not copycatting somebody else.

I think it's very sad when kids feel the need to copycat.

More examplesFewer examples

They suggested she was trying to copycat Princess Diana's famous TV interview of 1995.
Doesn't this movie just copycat the plot of "The Terminator"?
Many well-known brands are copycatted and sold in markets all over the world.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Crime - general words

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Copying and copies

(Definition of copycat from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

copycat | Intermediate English

copycat

adjective [ not gradable ]

/ˈkɑp·iˌkæt/

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done to copy someone or something

A copycat crime is one that appears to be a copy of another crime because it is so similar.

(Definition of copycat from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

copycat | Business English

copycat

adjective [ before noun ]

COMMERCE

/ˈkɒpikæt/ us

/ˈkɑːpi-/

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made or done in exactly the same way as something else:

cheap copycat products

Sales of the product have fallen by 42% since copycat versions were launched.

copycat

noun [ C ]

COMMERCE

/ˈkɒpikæt/ us

/ˈkɑːpi-/

a product that is a copy of another company's product:

The jeans company says it will fight to have all copycats removed from stores and destroyed.

(Definition of copycat from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of copycat

copycat

High-end products were therefore insulated from the encroachment of cheap copycats.

From Slate Magazine

And, consumers know the difference between competition and copycats.

From WIRED

He said the period after an incident like this can be even more dangerous because of the possibility of copycats.

From MLive.com

And no copycat is stranger or more accomplished than the mimic octopus.

From WIRED

If the government starts cracking down on copycat drugs, it would hurt patients.

From Slate Magazine

Copycats flooded the market, and the stock dropped 63 percent from its peak within a mere four months.

From Chicago Tribune

The best moat it could erect against the competition, especially from copycats, was to become the dominant player in every market.

From The Verge

Nine times out of ten we bought a copycat company in the country we wanted to expand into.

From The Verge

This team is a copycat league, and once you see a guy having success, his name pops up quickly.

From New York Daily News

A pioneer in social networking, the site was an inspiration for a wave of copycats.

From USA TODAY

But where does the term copycat come from?

From Slate Magazine

You can't copycat something you don't deeply understand.

From TechCrunch

There are also copycat, "counterfeit" shoes out there so make sure you're buying from an authorized dealer.

From CNN

But in the animal kingdom, natural selection loves a copycat.

From WIRED

Since then, there have been a dozen or so copycat titles and a steady stream of refinements to further befuddle targets.

From Ars Technica

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of copycat?