offshoot
Americannoun
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a branch or lateral shoot from a main stem, as of a plant.
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anything conceived of as springing or proceeding from a main stock.
an offshoot of a discussion.
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a branch, descendant, or scion of a specific population or family.
noun
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a shoot or branch growing from the main stem of a plant
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something that develops or derives from a principal source or origin
Etymology
Origin of offshoot
Explanation
On a plant, an offshoot is a sprout or shoot that branches off. From this botanical meaning, offshoot has come to describe anything that starts or grows from something else. You can start a whole new plant with a houseplant's offshoot, by putting it in water and waiting for it to grow roots. Another kind of offshoot is a local branch of a library, an offshoot of the central location, or an offshoot of a popular TV show, also called a "spin-off." Interestingly, the earliest definition of offshoot, in the seventeenth century, referred to family trees. It wasn't until 1814 that offshoot was used for actual plants.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And Mercado Pago, the financial offshoot of Argentine e-commerce giant Mercado Libre, could get its license approved this year, according to Oxford Analytica.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Goop Kitchen is a separate business entity from Goop, but it’s become a fast-growing offshoot of the company with which it shares a logo, founder and name.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
The glow has even faded from “The Golden Bachelor,” an offshoot which got off to a buzzy start in 2023 with then-72-year-old widower Gerry Turner.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
The team believes this was an early offshoot of what is now the Azores mantle plume.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
To Roosevelt, the first settlement of Painted Rock Cave demonstrated that the Amazon forest was not settled by a copy or offshoot of Clovis.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
