imitate/copy

[WilliamTaft]

"imitate" in The Britannica Dictionary:
2
a : to do the same thing as (someone)
She's always imitating [=copying] her older sister.

A usage note of "imitate" in Longman Contemporary:
Do not use "imitate" to mean ‘do the same thing as someone else’. Use "copy": She worries that Tom will copy his brother (NOT imitate his brother) and leave home.
Do you agree?

 

[jutfrank]

No, not at all. The verb 'imitate' certainly does mean 'do the same thing as someone else', so of course you can use it to mean that!

The Longman dictionary writers apparently wanted to say something useful about when to use 'copy' instead of 'imitate' but they haven't said it.

 

[Tarheel]

@WilliamTaft Have you tried Dictionary.com?

You can expect to see ten example sentences for each word.