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# mimic

verb (mimic, mimics, mimicked, mimicking); noun (a mimic, mimics); adjective (mimic — rare)

«mimic» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To copy the way someone talks or moves, often to be funny or to make fun of them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#m1)
2. In nature, to look or sound like something else to stay safe or to trick, as some animals do. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#m2)
3. (noun) A person or animal that is good at copying sounds or actions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science it is about animal disguise: a hoverfly mimics a wasp, the lyrebird mimics chainsaws and cameras. In everyday life and kindness lessons, mimicking someone to make fun of them can hurt. In drama, mimicking voices is a skill. Phrases: a good mimic, mimic someone's accent.

### Examples

- Parrots can mimic human words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x1)
- The lyrebird mimics the sound of a camera shutter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x2)
- The hoverfly mimics a wasp so birds leave it alone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x3)
- Please don't mimic Sam's voice; it upsets him. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x4)
- My sister is a brilliant mimic of our teacher. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x5)
- The stick insect mimics a twig. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x6)
- Robots can mimic the way people walk. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x7)
- By-and-by he began to mimic the speech and gait of persons in the street. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/#x8)

### Note

Spelling trap: add k before -ed and -ing: mimicked, mimicking (not mimiced). Noun: mimicry, the copying in nature. Similar: imitate, copy.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «mimic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mimic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«mimic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mimic.html) on Mova free.