procreate

American  

[proh-kree-eyt] / ˈproʊ kriˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

procreates, present (3rd person singular) procreated, past participle, past procreating present participle

1. to beget or generate (offspring).

2. to produce; bring into being.

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verb (used without object)

procreates, present (3rd person singular) procreated, past participle, past procreating present participle

1. to beget offspring.

2. to produce; bring into being.

procreate British  

/ ˈprəʊkrɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. to beget or engender (offspring)

2. (tr) to bring into being

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• procreation
  noun
• procreativeness
  noun
• procreator
  noun
• nonprocreative
  adjective
• procreant
  adjective
• procreative
  adjective
• unprocreated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• procreating
  present
• procreated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• procreate
  simple
• procreates
  simple
• have procreated
  perfect
• has procreated
  perfect
• am procreating
  progressive
• are procreating
  progressive
• is procreating
  progressive
• have been procreating
  perfect progressive
• has been procreating
  perfect progressive

Past

• procreated
  simple
• had procreated
  perfect
• was procreating
  progressive
• were procreating
  progressive
• had been procreating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will procreate
  simple
• will have procreated
  perfect
• will be procreating
  progressive
• will have been procreating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of procreate

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin prōcreātus, past participle of prōcreāre “to breed”; see pro- ¹, create

Explanation

To procreate is to reproduce. In other words, to procreate is a more formal way of saying "making babies." Notice the word create in procreate? That's a clue that this word is about making something, in this case, making more creatures. In biology, procreation is typically called reproduction. All forms of procreating result in more critters like the originals. Your parents procreated, or you wouldn't be here.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procreate procreates procreated procreating

Finally, to bring the day to a close, a senior monk gives a rousing speech, reminding the participants of their duty to procreate, before breaking into the national anthem.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Courts across the country struggle with whether one person’s right to procreate outweighs another’s right to not become a parent against their will.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025

The pressure to procreate comes from so many directions I’m considering pitching a “Walking Dead” spinoff where the child free are the living and everyone else are zombies trying to turn us.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2024

The Borg and the changelings came to an agreement in which the changelings would be the Borg’s vehicle to carry out some villainous plan to help them procreate.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

There are only a few who really make it out and stay out, while the rest of us drink, procreate, and go to church, and that seems to be enough to keep us afloat.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

This is especially true of A. aegypti, because it procreates more rapidly and spreads more aggressively than triatomines.

From Nature ● Mar. 15, 2016

Especially in a world of insatiable electronic storytelling, real history procreates, endlessly conjuring new versions of itself.

From Time Magazine Archive

Save me from the excitement which brings exhaustion, and from the passion that procreates remorse.

From The Young Duke by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

The snake with its tail in its mouth is the cycle of the libido, the always rolling wheel of life, of procreation, which always procreates itself, and of the creation of the world.

From Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts by Jelliffe, Smith Ely

He that procreates a person, he that rescues a person, and he that assigns the means of sustenance to a person are regarded as the three sires.

From The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 by Ganguli, Kisari Mohan

Now that those resistant bed bugs have survived and procreated, humans are the ones who must adapt.

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2024

The second, more damning letter, reads like a manifesto and notes that "persistence procreated the resistance."

From Fox News ● May 21, 2019

Any American who has ever procreated knows what a racket the baby industry is.

From Time ● Dec. 1, 2014

Do we look at men who have somehow not procreated as missing out? 

From Slate ● Apr. 26, 2012

Therefore, in the Declaration at the beginning, after the words "procreation of children," I would insert, "and as the means of securing to the children procreated enduring care, and that they may be," &c.

From Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit and Some Miscellaneous Pieces by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

In this case, Patterson said, her client has a strong interest in avoiding procreating against his will.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024

Musk appears concerned about under-population: He's worried there won't be enough people to colonize Mars, and that wealthy people aren't procreating enough.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2022

My wife, obviously, for procreating with me and being such a good life partner.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2022

Now that we’re at an age in which our friends are procreating at what seems to me like a ridiculous rate, I find myself struggling to find the joy in any new pregnancy announcement.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2019

But they also light up when the brain interprets something as pleasurable, even if the behavior doesn’t appear to have the survival value of, say, eating or procreating.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel