carbon copy

noun

1
: a copy made by carbon paper
2
: duplicate
is a carbon copy of his father

Examples of carbon copy in a Sentence

I'll need a carbon copy of that receipt. She's a carbon copy of her mother.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Possible X factors Of course, the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections are not carbon copies of each other. Dorian Rhea Debussy, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2024 But your new character, Gabby, is not just a carbon copy of Barbra Jean, right? Josef Adalian, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024 The wheel route touchdown Justin Herbert threw to running back Kimani Vidal in the first half looked like a carbon copy of the play Seattle hit for a touchdown in Week 1. Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2024 Projects to resurrect animals that have gone extinct more recently — the mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger — are reaching an inflection point, although the goal is to create a hybrid approximation of those creatures, not carbon copies. Katie Hunt, CNN, 5 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for carbon copy 

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of carbon copy was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near carbon copy

Cite this Entry

“Carbon copy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carbon%20copy. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

carbon copy

noun
1
: a copy made with carbon paper
2

More from Merriam-Webster on carbon copy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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