spawn

American  

[spawn] / spɔn /

noun

spawns plural

1. Zoology. the mass of eggs deposited by fishes, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.

2. Mycology. the mycelium of mushrooms, especially of the species grown for the market.

3. Usually Disparaging. a swarming brood; numerous progeny.

   Diners at the restaurant were annoyed by the two inconsiderate parents and their unruly spawn.

4. any person or thing regarded as the offspring of some stock, idea, etc.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the spawning of a character or item in a video game: the spawn rate.

   a spawn point;

   the spawn rate.

verb (used without object)

spawns, present (3rd person singular) spawned, past participle, past spawning present participle

1. to deposit eggs or sperm directly into the water, as fishes.

2. (of a character or item in a video game) to originate at a fixed point in an existing game environment.

   An enemy character just spawned right on top of me!

verb (used with object)

spawns, present (3rd person singular) spawned, past participle, past spawning present participle

1. to produce (spawn).

2. to give birth to; give rise to.

   His sudden disappearance spawned many rumors.

   Synonyms:

   beget, yield, generate, engender

3. to produce in large number.

4. to plant with mycelium.

spawn British  

/ spɔːn /

noun

1. the mass of eggs deposited by fish, amphibians, or molluscs

2. derogatory offspring, product, or yield

3. botany the nontechnical name for mycelium

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verb

1. (of fish, amphibians, etc) to produce or deposit (eggs)

2. derogatory (of people) to produce (offspring)

3. (tr) to produce or engender

spawn Scientific  

/ spôn /

1. The eggs of water animals such as fish, amphibians, and mollusks.

2. Offspring produced in large numbers.

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1. To lay eggs; produce spawn.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spawner
  noun
• unspawned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• spawn
  plural
• spawns
  plural

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have spawned
  perfect
• has spawned
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have been spawning
  perfect progressive
• is spawning
  progressive 3rd person singular
• spawning
  participle
• am spawning
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been spawning
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are spawning
  progressive
• spawns
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had spawned
  perfect
• was spawning
  progressive singular
• had been spawning
  perfect progressive
• were spawning
  progressive plural
• spawned
  participle
• spawned
  simple

Future

• will spawn
  simple
• will have spawned
  perfect
• will be spawning
  progressive
• will have been spawning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spawn

1350–1400; Middle English spawnen (v.), probably < Anglo-French espaundre ( Old French espandre ) to expand

Explanation

Technically, the mass of small eggs laid by animals like fish, frogs, mollusks is called spawn. But the word has been borrowed to mean offspring, or the act of making them in general. When someone is in league with the devil, a preacher might refer to them as “Satan’s spawn.” Your dad probably find something satanic in the kids next door when he refers to them as the neighbor’s spawn. Bill Gates’ programming project in college spawned Microsoft, a multi-billion dollar industry giant.

Example Sentences

However, they can migrate to the ocean and become steelhead, where they typically grow larger before returning to their natal waters to spawn.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The Environment Agency and Natural England have put logs in the river to help create gravel bars and banks where fish can spawn.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

In North America, it’s been common for nearly a century to engineer streams so that salmon and trout can journey upstream and spawn.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026

He and his collaborators inadvertently helped spawn “this massive culture and industry” around the Bigfoot legend, Evans says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Just as the nothingness of the vacuum and the zero- point energy spawn particles, they might spawn universes.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• create
• generate