emulate
gb/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt/ us/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt/
B2
English
~ 9500
Senses
0 senses
Verb
formal
B2
action
1
imitate someone or something
To copy how someone or something acts or looks, usually because you admire them or want the same result.
Usage pattern:
[someone] emulates [someone/something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "emulate" when they only mean "copy" in a simple or negative way (for example, copying answers on a test). "Emulate" usually suggests respect and a wish to reach the same high level, not dishonest copying. It is also more formal than "copy" or "imitate" and is less common in very casual speech.
Synonyms
imitate (More common and neutral; does not always suggest respect or a wish to achieve the same level.)
|
copy (More casual and sometimes negative; can suggest lack of originality rather than respectful following.)
|
follow (Suggests using someone as a model, but less strong than "emulate" about careful or close imitation.)
Antonyms
innovate (Focuses on creating something new rather than copying an existing model.)
|
differentiate (Means making yourself or something clearly different instead of behaving or looking the same.)
Collocations
emulate his father
|emulate her role model
|emulate the style of
|emulate best practices
|try to emulate
|emulate their approach
Themes
daily life
|work
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Young designers often emulate the work of famous architects when they are first learning.
- She tries to emulate her mentor’s calm and professional manner during meetings.
- The company emulated its competitor’s successful marketing campaign, but added a few original ideas.
- Many new players emulate the movements of top athletes they watch online.
- The restaurant’s interior design emulates the cozy feel of a traditional Italian home.
Learner examples
- He wants to emulate his older brother, who is very kind.
- The students tried to emulate their teacher’s way of speaking English.
- New workers often emulate the habits of more experienced staff.
- She emulates her mother’s style of dress.
- The app emulates the look of a real notebook.
Verb
formal
C1
action
2
seek to equal someone’s success
To try hard to be as successful, skilled, or good as another person or thing.
Usage pattern:
[someone] emulates [someone’s] success/achievement/performance
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "emulate" always means to be better than someone, but it mainly means to try to be as good as them, not necessarily to beat them. They also occasionally use it with things that are not clear measures of success, where simpler verbs like "copy" or "follow" would be more natural.
Synonyms
match (Stresses being equal in level or amount, without the idea of learning from or following an example.)
|
rival (Emphasizes competition and being as good as or better than someone else.)
|
aspire to (Focuses more on the desire to reach a level, not necessarily on actually achieving it or copying how it was done.)
Antonyms
fall short of (Means to not reach the same level or standard as someone or something you are compared to.)
|
underperform (Means to do worse than expected or than others, instead of matching their success.)
Collocations
emulate her success
|emulate their achievements
|emulate his performance
|emulate the results
|emulate industry leaders
|emulate the standard set by
Themes
work
|ambition
|sports
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Many small businesses hope to emulate the success of large tech companies.
- Young athletes dream of emulating the achievements of their sporting heroes.
- Our team is trying to emulate last year’s record-breaking performance.
- New universities are attempting to emulate the academic standards of long-established institutions.
- She set out to emulate her mother’s career, aiming to become an equally respected lawyer.
Learner examples
- The new shop wants to emulate the success of the popular shop across the street.
- He trains every day to emulate the performance of top runners.
- Our company plans to emulate the results of the best firm in the market.
- Students often try to emulate the high grades of the top student in class.
- The coach told the team to emulate the hard work of last year’s players.
Verb
technical
C1
action
3
make one computer imitate another
In computers, to make one machine or program act like another machine, so you can run the same software.
Usage pattern:
[system/software] emulates [system/device]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse "emulate" with "simulate" or "virtualize". In computing, "emulate" usually means the new system acts so much like the old one that original programs can run, while a simulation may only copy some behavior, and virtualization usually keeps the same hardware type.
Synonyms
simulate (Very close in technical use, but can be broader, covering models that do not fully run original software.)
|
virtualize (More specific to creating virtual machines; related but not always identical to full emulation of different hardware or platforms.)
Antonyms
run natively (Means software runs directly on its own intended hardware or system, without any emulation layer.)
Collocations
emulate older hardware
|emulate a game console
|software that emulates
|emulate a legacy system
|emulate the original environment
|emulate another operating system
Themes
technology
|computing
Examples
- This program emulates an older game console so you can play classic titles on your laptop.
- Developers use software that emulates different phones to test their apps.
- The new tool emulates a legacy system, allowing companies to keep using old applications on modern servers.
- By emulating the original hardware, the project preserves vintage computer games for future users.
- The server can emulate several operating systems at once for testing purposes.
Learner examples
- The app emulates an old computer so the game can still run.
- We used software to emulate a smartphone on the desktop.
- This program emulates the old system, so we do not need the old machine.
- The website shows how to emulate a game console on your PC.
- Engineers built a tool to emulate many devices for testing.
Grammar
Dictionary form
emulate
IPA
GB/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt/
US/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt/
Syllables & stress
emu - late (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (emu)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: emulate
- 3rd Person Singular: emulates
- Present Participle: emulating
- Past: emulated
Word family
Forms
emulates
verb
emulating
verb
emulated
verb
Core family
emulation
noun C1
Related words
emulator
noun
Expressions
emulate someone’s example
1/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt sˈʌmwˌʌnz ɪɡzˈæmpəl/
fixed phrase
formal
follow and imitate someone’s example
To act in the same good way as another person, using them as a model.
Examples
- The manager asked the new staff to emulate her example of polite customer service.
- Children often emulate their parents’ example, both good and bad.
- He encouraged his students to emulate the example of past leaders who worked hard for change.
emulate the success of
1/ˈɛmjəlˌeɪt ðə səksˈɛs əv/
fixed phrase
formal
try to match someone’s success
To try to be as successful as another person, company, team, or thing.
Examples
- The startup hopes to emulate the success of major tech companies in the region.
- Many new restaurants aim to emulate the success of well-known chains.
- Smaller clubs often try to emulate the success of big-city teams.