copycat

What it means

A copycat is someone who copies another person's behavior, ideas, style, or work, often without credit. The word ranges from playful — used by children — to seriously negative in business and crime contexts, where 'copycat' may describe imitation products or imitation criminal acts.

Examples

• Stop being a copycat and pick your own outfit.
• Their new logo is a clear copycat of ours.
• Police feared a copycat attack after the news coverage.
• He's such a copycat — he ordered exactly what I ordered.

Where it comes from

American English from the late 19th century, with 'cat' used loosely as a familiar tag for a person (as in 'cool cat'). Originally schoolyard slang for a child who imitates another, it later extended to adults, brands, and crimes.

Related idioms