offspring
Americannoun
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offspring,
plural
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offsprings
plural
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children or young of a particular parent or progenitor.
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a child or animal in relation to the parent or parents.
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a descendant.
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descendants collectively.
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the product, result, or effect of something.
the offspring of an inventive mind.
noun
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the immediate descendant or descendants of a person, animal, etc; progeny
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a product, outcome, or result
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing offspring
It's All in the Family
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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"The Origin of Species by Natural Selection" by Charles Darwin: Essential Words
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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.
See Examples For:
As a result, there may be less evolutionary pressure favoring traits that help older females produce especially fit offspring.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 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
Evolutionary theory therefore proposed that females might sometimes gain a greater evolutionary advantage by helping raise their sisters than by producing offspring of their own.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
These can lead to a weakened immune system, increased mortality and aborted offspring.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Matthias joined in the laughter as Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel thanked Basil for the generous gift to their tiny offspring.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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
Aristotle came to this thought when he observed that hares often gave birth to litters which comprised sets of healthy and imperfect offsprings.
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
Out upon the ways of the world!—They spoil “these social offsprings of the heart.”
From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Robert Burns
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.
