copycats 1 of 2

plural of copycat
as in imitators
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats

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copycats

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of copycat
1
2
as in imitates
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior a performer who slavishly copycats another never rises to the level of true stardom

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of copycats
Noun
Successful brands such as Buc-ee’s, for example, can create customer familiarity that might spur copycats looking for shortcuts to gain market share. — Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2026 The success that the Canadiens, Wild, Senators, Mammoth and Hurricanes have enjoyed with those above deals has, understandably, created some copycats. — James Mirtle, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 The show was a phenomenon that continues to inspire copycats and parodies; Hansen emerged as an icon for some, and a meme for others. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 Children are born copycats and seeing parents using the toilet can inspire them to do the same. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026 Krasner warned potential copycats who were thinking of imitating Hughes' behavior. — Kelsie Cairns , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2026 That takedown involved the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment and Egyptian authorities; GCI's report says the brand and its copycats rebuilt their audience during the World Cup. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Not only would the ’70s see a precipitous rise of in the number of Hollywood sequels, but any film that managed to cut through the zeitgeist gave birth to handfuls of quick, formulaic, often cheaply made, copycats. — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026 Many are blatant copycats of existing titles, seemingly intended to trick readers into buying them. — Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 27 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copycats
Noun
  • The Dadaists used this gleefully and compulsively (see René Clair and Francis Picabia’s wacky Entr’Acte); so, famously, did Hideo Nakata in Y2K hit The Ring and countless imitators.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Few people on the continent seem to recognize that multibillion investments by US companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Amazon in space, and their many imitators in China, are radically transforming spaceflight.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Still, those details deserve more attention when a new site also copies campaign branding or asks for money.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • This rapid method copies the parasite’s genetic material until there’s enough to detect, rather than trying to grow the organism.
    — Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • Constantin Brâncuși’s marble-and-limestone sculpture L’oiseau (1923/1947), for example, commands the space, while Wolfgang Tillmans’s 2022 photograph tree filling window imitates an open window in a closed space.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Over the weekend, movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment accused Robinhood of creating an unauthorized market that imitates trading in AMC shares through its overseas platform without the company’s approval.
    — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Its Instagram account has 489,000 followers and the organization posted a video in April 2022 featuring Cardenas along with Northgate and Gardenland community members inviting people to come paint.
    — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Over the years, Chivayo gave away dozens of luxury cars, buses, cash and other gifts to celebrities, church leaders, sports figures, politicians and social media followers, frequently broadcasting his largesse online.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Once researchers can send participants home with a device that reliably reproduces sauna-like heat stress, the study pipeline gets longer, cheaper and larger.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
  • That may sound scary, but adding AI to a broken organization only reproduces the same problems in a faster, more bloated and more expensive form.
    — Panos Siozos, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Nvidia, which surrendered $589 billion in a day to DeepSeek's legend, is the company DeepSeek now depends on and emulates.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Oscar emulates him with another round of Volcano Mode a minute later.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The echoes of this resonant throughout the ages and the vibrations from such are more relevant than ever.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Audiences will no doubt see broad echoes of what could have been in Ali’s passionate and often ruthless Latif.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Craven similarly replicates the formula of inoffensive statement versus misogynistic backlash.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Some may occur randomly when a cell divides and replicates its DNA.
    — MD Published, Verywell Health, 21 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Copycats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copycats. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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