photocopy

[ foh-tuh-kop-ee ]

noun

, plural pho·to·cop·ies.

1. a photographic reproduction of a document, print, or the like.

verb (used with object)

, pho·to·cop·ied, pho·to·cop·y·ing.

1. to reproduce (a document, print, or the like) photographically.

photocopy

/ ˈfəʊtəʊˌkɒpɪ /

noun

1. a photographic reproduction of written, printed, or graphic work See also microcopy

verb

1. to reproduce (written, printed, or graphic work) on photographic material

Word History and Origins

Origin of photocopy¹

First recorded in 1920–25; photo- + copy

Example Sentences

The magazine urged readers to “photocopy pages and paste them around your town” – a kind of analogue memetics.

From BBC

Hunkered over a Xerox machine at an ad agency above a flower shop on Melrose Avenue, Daniel Ellsberg began the laborious process of photocopying the smuggled documents that he hoped would end the Vietnam War.

From Los Angeles Times

According to the Associated Press, in 2019, the bureau began photocopying mail coming into prisons instead of delivering the original parcels to prisoners, in an attempt to combat the smuggling of synthetic narcotics.

From Los Angeles Times

One of the 25-page letters was covered in fingerprints and photocopies of "human matter" including DNA, saliva, hair and blood, Mr Walker said.

From BBC

Training on AI-generated data is “like what happens when you photocopy a piece of paper and then you photocopy the photocopy. You lose some of the information,” Papernot said.

From Seattle Times