replicate

/ˈrɛpləˌkeɪt/

/ˈrɛplɪkɪt/

Other forms: replicated; replicating; replicates

Did you just figure out how to make that excellent pizza you had in Philadelphia? Then what you’ve done is replicate it, meaning you’ve been able to reproduce it.

The word replicate carries different shades of meaning, but it generally involves repeating something. Students of biology will know that the word is often used to indicate that an exact duplicate has been made, such as chromosomes that replicate themselves. It can also be used in an unscientific sense to mean that something has been done again to match or repeat an earlier outcome, such as a political group that works to replicate a successful campaign.

Definitions of replicate

1. verb

   reproduce or make an exact copy of
   “replicate the cell”

   synonyms: copy

   type of:

   double, duplicate, reduplicate, repeat

   make or do or perform again
2. verb

   make or do or perform again
   “He could never replicate his brilliant performance of the magic trick”

   synonyms: double, duplicate, reduplicate, repeat

   types:

   copy

   reproduce or make an exact copy of

   recapitulate

   repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life

   geminate, reduplicate

   form by reduplication

   type of:

   reproduce

   make a copy or equivalent of
3. verb

   bend or turn backward
   synonyms: retroflex

   type of:

   bend, flex

   form a curve