Word.ws English Dictionary

deep copy

deep copy noun: a copy of a data structure duplicating not only the structure itself, but all structures to which it is linked.

Noun

deep copy (plural deep copies)

  1. A copy of a data structure duplicating not only the structure itself, but all structures to which it is linked.
    • Don't try to make a deep copy of that: you'll pull in half the database.

Verb

deep copy (third-person singular simple present deep copies, present participle deep copying, simple past and past participle deep copied)

  1. (transitive) To make a deep copy of.
    • I'd prefer to deep copy that in order to avoid complications with updates.
  2. (intransitive) To make a deep copy.
    • This is a situation where you either have to deep copy or handle the complication of updates.

Antonyms of deep copy

Forms of deep copy

Noun
pluraldeep copies
alternative formdeep-copy
Verb
third-person singular presentdeep copies
present participledeep copying
past participledeep copied
pastdeep copied

Questions about deep copy

What does deep copy mean?
Deep copy means a copy of a data structure duplicating not only the structure itself, but all structures to which it is linked.
What part of speech is deep copy?
Deep copy can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of deep copy?
The plural of deep copy is deep copies.

Words near deep copy in the dictionary

  1. deep colors
  2. deep colour
  3. deep colours
  4. deep copied
  5. deep copies
  6. deep copy
  7. deep copying
  8. deep cover
  9. Deep Creek
  10. deep cut
  11. deep cuts

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: deep copy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “deep copy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deep_copy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.