cop•y/ˈkɑpi/USA pronunciationn., pl.cop•ies, for 1, 2.7, 9. in Unabridged dictionary,v., cop•ied, cop•y•ing. n.
[countable] an imitation or reproduction of an original: They brought in a copy of a famous painting. I made three copies of the contract and mailed back two of them.
Printing one single example of a book, newspaper, etc.:[countable]I'll mail you a copy of my book.
Printing matter to be reproduced in printed form:[uncountable]The editor thought the author's copy was acceptable.
Printing, Journalism the text of a news story, advertisement, or the like:[uncountable]The ad agency wrote the copy for the commercial.
Journalism[uncountable] something interesting enough to be printed in a newspaper: Political gossip is always good copy.
v.
[~ + object]
to make a copy of; reproduce:I copied the article and gave it to the class to read.
to undergo copying; be able to be copied:Certain colors don't copy well on these older machines.
to make a copy or copies; reproduce:[no object]That old machine copies poorly.
to follow as a pattern; imitate:[~ + object]He was always copying his brother.
cop•y(kop′ē),USA pronunciationn., pl.cop•ies,for 1, 2, 7, 9, v.,cop•ied, cop•y•ing. n.
an imitation, reproduction, or transcript of an original:a copy of a famous painting.
Printingone of the various examples or specimens of the same book, engraving, or the like.
Printingwritten matter intended to be reproduced in printed form:The editor sent the copy for the next issue to the printer.
Printing, Journalismthe text of a news story, advertisement, television commercial, etc., as distinguished from related visual material.
Journalismthe newsworthiness of a person, thing, or event (often prec. by good or bad):The president is always good copy.Cf. news (def. 4).
Geneticsreplication (def. 7).
Printingpictures and artwork prepared for reproduction.
British Terms(in schools) a composition; a written assignment.
Printing[Brit.]a size of drawing or writing paper, 16 × 20 in. (40 × 50 cm).
[Archaic.]something that is to be reproduced; an example or pattern, as of penmanship to be copied by a pupil.
v.t.
to make a copy of; transcribe; reproduce:to copy a set of figures from a book.
Radio and Televisionto receive and understand (a radio message or its sender).
to follow as a pattern or model; imitate.
v.i.
to make a copy or copies.
to undergo copying:It copied poorly.
Radio and Televisionto hear or receive a radio message, as over a CB radio:Do you copy?
CanadaAlso, cocky.[Newfoundland.]to leap from one ice pan to another across open water.
Radio and Television, Idiomscopy the mail, [CB Radio Slang.]See mail1 (def. 5).
Medieval Latin cōpia abundance, something copied, Latin: wealth, abundance; see copious; (def. 16) origin, originally a children's game, from the phrase copy the leader
Anglo-French)
Middle English copie (1300–50
1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged duplicate, carbon, facsimile.
13.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See imitate.
13.See corresponding entry in Unabridged originate.