offspring

American  

[awf-spring, of-] / ˈɔfˌsprɪŋ, ˈɒf- /

noun

• offspring,
  plural
• offsprings
  plural

1. children or young of a particular parent or progenitor.

2. a child or animal in relation to the parent or parents.

3. a descendant.

4. descendants collectively.

5. the product, result, or effect of something.

   the offspring of an inventive mind.

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offspring British  

/ ˈɒfˌsprɪŋ /

noun

1. the immediate descendant or descendants of a person, animal, etc; progeny

2. a product, outcome, or result

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• offspring
  plural
• offsprings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of offspring

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English ofspring; see off, of ¹, spring (in the sense “to descend from”)

Explanation

Puppies are the offspring, or children, of a mamma dog. You're the offspring of your biological parents. This is basically another word for children. Baby horses, gorillas, lizards, and humans are all offspring. A woman who gives birth to quadruplets suddenly has a lot of offspring. But this word isn't limited to biological creations — you could say that a project you've been laboring over is your offspring. Albert Einstein's offspring included many groundbreaking theories, and the scientists who followed up on Einstein's ideas are considered his intellectual offspring.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

offspring offsprings

Billed as a sequel series premiering Sept. 24, a Wayne offspring is our anchor for the freshman class at Hillman College, the show’s fictional historically Black college based in Virginia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Changes in their levels could therefore point to epigenetic effects that may be transmitted from parents to offspring.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Foo said he doesn’t know how many years the orange-winged cicadas need to spend underground—he estimated between two and six—meaning next year’s bugs may be the offspring of adults from several years prior.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

His offspring are made of lesser stuff than him, but our hero manages to earn redemption by flinging a stockcar around a tri-oval racetrack 180 times at 200 miles per hour.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Thus, the information about a body’s “state” is transmitted from parents to offspring during conception.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

It sticks out like a sore thumb among the Camden Yards offsprings that followed.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

Internal fertilization leads to more genetic variations and increases the survival rates of offsprings.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

He deduced that the imperfect offsprings were younger ones who had spent less time in their mother’s womb—a direct consequence of superfetation.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 27, 2011

Toys R Us' "Fabulous 15" top picks includes Monster High dolls, offsprings to famous monster characters, and Hasbro's Cuponk, a game that challenges players to master ball-and-cup tricks using a wall.

From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2010

There was a column for each of the hens and their possible offsprings, and the grand total, expressed in terms of chickens, was stupendous.

From Punch or the London Charivari, September 9, 1914 by Sir Owen Seaman

Related Words

• baby
• brood
• child
• cub
• daughter
• descendant
• generation
• heir
• kid
• progeny
• pup
• son