plural copies
1
: an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work (such as a letter, a painting, a table, or a dress)
2
: one of a series of especially mechanical reproductions of an original impression
also
: an individual example of such a reproduction
3
archaic
: something to be imitated : model
4
a
: matter to be set especially for printing
b
: something considered printable or newsworthy
—used without an article
remarks that make good copy—
Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins
c
: text especially of an advertisement
5
: duplicate sense 1a
a copy of a computer file
a copy of a gene
copied; copying; copies
1
: to make a copy or duplicate of
copy a document
Please copy and paste the link into your browser.
For players who are holdovers from last year's ballot, I just copied and pasted what I wrote a year ago.—Dave Cameron
Dave Cameron2
: to model oneself on
3
in radio/military communications
: to acknowledge receipt of (a message)
The operator of the Titanic was busy figuring his accounts and did not bother to copy the message. A little later in the afternoon, another ship named the Baltic called the Titanic to tell her about icebergs that were in her way.—Rev. Robert P. Lawrence
Rev. Robert P. Lawrence1
: to make a copy
2
: to undergo copying
the map did not copy well
3
in radio/military communications
: to acknowledge receipt and understanding of a message
"Block the road with your car. Take no other action. … No resistance, do you copy? Over."—Stephen King
Stephen KingSynonyms
Examples of copy in a Sentence
Noun
The novel has sold more than a million copies.
She got a job writing advertising copy.
All copy must be submitted by 5 p.m.
Verb
She copied the design on a piece of paper.
Copy the file to your hard drive.
The bills are designed to prevent copying by counterfeiters.
We caught him copying the answers out of the book.
We caught him copying out of the book.
The speech was copied word for word.
His music was copied widely.
Their competitors soon copied the idea.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Westover, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
However, the credit-reporting companies allow consumers to get free copies of their credit report weekly.
—Marin Independent Journal, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
The labs of the Middle East have never been as fastidious as the Bulgarian ones were about copying captagon.
—Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for copy 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Productivity & Content Creation Tests Our Mac testing isn't an exact copy of our Windows testing protocols, due to the differences in operating system, chip architecture, and software catalog.
—Brian Westover, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
However, the credit-reporting companies allow consumers to get free copies of their credit report weekly.
—Marin Independent Journal, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
The experiment showed that the birds were able to learn how to get food out of a puzzle box by copying the solution from others.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
The labs of the Middle East have never been as fastidious as the Bulgarian ones were about copying captagon.
—Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for copy
Articles Related to copy
Dictionary Entries Near copy
Cite this Entry
“Copy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copy. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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