# copycat

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #31,936

## Definitions
1. One who imitates or plagiarizes others' work.
2. A criminal who imitates the crimes of another; specifically, a criminal who commits the same crime, especially a highly-publicized one, that has just or recently been committed by someone else.

## Etymology
Originally American English, from copy + cat (“former derogatory term for a person”).

## Common misspellings (11)
`ccopycat`, `copcyat`, `coppycat`, `copyact`, `copycatt`, `copyccat`, `copycta`, `copyycat`, `coypcat`, `cpoycat`, `ocpycat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/copycat