[ im-i-teyt ]
/ ˈɪm ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used with object), im·i·tat·ed, im·i·tat·ing.

to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example: to imitate an author's style; to imitate an older brother.
to mimic; impersonate: The students imitated the teacher behind her back.
to make a copy of; reproduce closely.
to have or assume the appearance of; simulate; resemble.

Origin of imitate

1525–35; < Latin imitātus past participle of imitārī to copy, presumably a frequentative akin to the base of imāgō image


2 ape, mock.
3 Imitate, copy, duplicate, reproduce all mean to follow or try to follow an example or pattern. Imitate is the general word for the idea: to imitate someone's handwriting, behavior. To copy is to make a fairly exact imitation of an original creation: to copy a sentence, a dress, a picture. To duplicate is to produce something that exactly resembles or corresponds to something else; both may be originals: to duplicate the terms of two contracts. To reproduce is to make a likeness or reconstruction of an original: to reproduce a 16th-century theater.

OTHER WORDS FROM imitate Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for imitate

British Dictionary definitions for imitate

/ (ˈɪmɪˌteɪt) /

verb (tr)

to try to follow the manner, style, character, etc, of or take as a modelmany writers imitated the language of Shakespeare
to pretend to be or to impersonate, esp for humour; mimic
to make a copy or reproduction of; duplicate; counterfeit
to make or be like; resemble or simulateher achievements in politics imitated her earlier successes in business

Derived forms of imitate

imitable, adjectiveimitability or imitableness, nounimitator, noun

Word Origin for imitate

C16: from Latin imitārī; see image