emulate
- 01 C1 Advanced
to make one computer or piece of software act exactly like a different one.
to imitate the function of another computer system or program by means of a different system, so that the imitating system accepts the same data and achieves the same results.
Simple“You can use special software to emulate old video games on a modern laptop.”
In context“The new operating system includes a layer designed to emulate legacy hardware, ensuring that older enterprise applications remain functional without modification.”
UsageThe verb is transitive and typically takes the system being imitated as the object.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to match or equal the quality or success of something else.
to equal or approach equality with a particular standard or achievement.
Simple“The new library was designed to emulate the grand architecture of the city's oldest buildings.”
In context“Few modern poets have managed to emulate the lyrical complexity found in the works of the late nineteenth-century masters.”
First attested in 1586; borrowed from Latin aemulātus, perfect active participle of Latin aemulor (“to rival, emulate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.