emulate

[em-yuh-leyt, em-yuh-lit]

verb (used with object)

emulated, emulating 

1. to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass.

   to emulate one's father as a concert violinist.

   Synonyms: copy, follow

2. to rival with some degree of success.

   Some smaller cities now emulate the major capitals in their cultural offerings.

3. Computers.

   1. to imitate (a particular computer system) by using a software system, often including a microprogram or another computer that enables it to do the same work, run the same programs, etc., as the first.

   2. to replace (software) with hardware to perform the same task.

adjective

1. Obsolete.,  emulous.

emulate

/ ˈɛmjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. to attempt to equal or surpass, esp by imitation

2. to rival or compete with

3. to make one computer behave like (another different type of computer) so that the imitating system can operate on the same data and execute the same programs as the imitated system

Other Word Forms

• emulative adjective
• emulatively adverb
• emulator noun
• nonemulative adjective
• overemulate verb (used with object)
• unemulative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of emulate¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin aemulātus, past participle of aemulārī “to rival”; emulous, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of emulate¹

C16: from Latin aemulārī, from aemulus competing with; probably related to imitārī to _imitate

Example Sentences

Elsewhere in Sutton, red crosses have been painted on white mini roundabouts to emulate the pattern of the St George's cross.

From BBC

She suggests the US could emulate its own policy on organ donation - which is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, and prohibits the sale of organs.

From BBC

“I think that the craftsmanship is one of the reasons that the humor works so well and I think the best parody is material that emulates the original source as closely as possible,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

ReadSpeaker's technology uses AI learning to emulate an accent or language from recordings.

From BBC

This time, less effort had been made to emulate her.

From BBC

Related Words

• follow suit 
• imitate 
• mimic 
• mirror