imitation

noun

• 1 [mass noun] the action of using someone or something as a model:a child learns to speak by imitation
• an act of imitating a person’s speech or mannerisms, especially for comic effect:he attempted an atrocious imitation of my English accent
• [mass noun] Music the repetition of a phrase or melody in another part or voice, usually at a different pitch.

• 2a thing intended to simulate or copy something else: [as modifier]:an imitation sub-machine gun