carbon copy
noun, verb
Forms carbon copies carbon copying carbon copied carbon-copy
- noun A copy produced in an alternated stack of ordinary sheets of paper and carbon papers. The pressure applied on the top sheet (by a pen or typewriter) causes every carbon paper to release its carbon cover, thus reproducing the writing on the subjacent layers of paper. “In preparing the contract, we'll make a carbon copy for our records.”
- noun (by extension) A duplicate or lookalike. “This new home is simply a carbon copy of the one down the street.”
- noun (Internet) A duplicate copy of an email.
- verb (transitive) To create a carbon copy of. “Please carbon copy this contract for our records.”
- verb (Internet) To send a duplicate copy of an email to.
Synonyms
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “carbon copy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details