mimic
/ˈmɪm.ɪk/
mimic verb: to imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
Verb
mimic (third-person singular simple present mimics, present participle mimicking, simple past and past participle mimicked)
- To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
- An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly)
- To take on the appearance of another, for protection or camouflage.
Noun
mimic (plural mimics)
- A mime.
- A comic who does impressions.
- Synonyms:
- impressionist
- An entity that mimics another entity, such as a disease that resembles another disease in its signs and symptoms; see the great imitator.
- An imitation.
- Jess jumped slightly at hearing Tillyʼs extremely accurate mimic of her voice.2005, Helen Oyeyemi, The Icarus Girl, Bloomsbury, page 190
- A fictional monster able to disguise itself as an inanimate object, commonly a treasure chest, often with the intent of luring adventurers into a trap.
Adjective
mimic (not comparable)
- Pertaining to mimicry; imitative.
- I think every man is cloied and wearied, with seeing so many apish and mimicke trickes, that juglers teach their Dogges, as the dances, where they misse not one cadence of the sounds or notes they heare[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- Oft, in her absence, mimic fancy wakes / To imitate her.1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Mock, pretended.
- Imitative; characterized by resemblance to other forms; applied to crystals which by twinning resemble simple forms of a higher grade of symmetry.
mimic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
mimic in Hindi
- mimic, imitator, clown
- नक़्क़ाल naqqāl
- mimic, mime
- नक़लची naqalcī
mimic in Tamil
- பிறர் போல நடி, கேலி செய், அபிநயிக்கிற, பிறரைப்பின்பற்றிப் போலி நடிப்பு நடிக்கிற, போலித்தனமான
mimic in Urdu
- نقل کرنا
mimic in Bengali
- নকল করা, অনুকরণ করা
More languagesFewer languages
- mimic in Malayalam
- ഗോഷ്ടി കാണിക്കുക, അനുകരിച്ച് പരിഹസിക്കുക
- mimic in Kannada
- ನಕಲಿಗಾರ, ಅಣಕಿ, ಅನುಕರಣ ಮಾಡುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ, ಅನುಕರಣಕಾರ
- mimic in Punjabi
- ਸਾਂਗ ਲਾਉਣਾ sāṅg lāuṇā, ਸਾਂਗੀ sāṅgī
- mimic in Thai
- เลียน liian
- mimic in Vietnamese
- bắt chước, nhại
Examples of mimic in a sentence
- If you listen carefully, you can hear the flutes mimicking the cello motive.
- He only tried to mimic the other's movements in jest.
- Many birds can sing beautifully, and various birds can mimic sounds that they hear, but lyrebirds are rockstars of mimickry in the bird world.
Synonyms of mimic
Forms of mimic
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | mimics |
| present participle | mimicking |
| past participle | mimicked |
| past | mimicked |
| alternative form (obsolete) | mimick |
| Noun | |
| plural | mimics |
Origin of mimic
From Latin mīmicus, from Ancient Greek μῑμικός (mīmikós, “belonging to mimes”), from μῖμος (mîmos, “imitator, actor”); see mime.
Words formed from mimic
Phrases with mimic
Words that rhyme with mimic
Questions about mimic
- What does mimic mean?
- Mimic means to imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
- What is mimic in Hindi?
- Mimic in Hindi is नक़्क़ाल (naqqāl), नक़लची (naqalcī). See Mimic meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is mimic?
- Mimic can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce mimic?
- Mimic is pronounced /ˈmɪm.ɪk/.
- What is the past tense of mimic?
- The past tense of mimic is mimicked.
Words near mimic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mimic (page history and authors); नक़लची (Hindi) (page history and authors); mimic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mimic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mimic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mimic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mimic (Kannada Wiktionary) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-mimic.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mimic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mimic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.