reproduce
Americanverb (used with object)
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reproduces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reproduced,
past participle, past
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reproducing
present participle
-
to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of.
to reproduce a picture.
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to produce again or anew by natural process.
to reproduce a severed branch.
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Biology. to produce one or more other individuals of (a given kind of organism) by some process of generation or propagation, sexual or asexual.
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to cause or foster the reproduction of (organisms).
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to produce, form, make, or bring about again or anew in any manner.
- Synonyms:
- repeat
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to recall to the mind or have a mental image of (a past incident, scene, etc.), as by the aid of memory or imagination.
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to produce again, as a play produced at an earlier time.
verb (used without object)
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reproduces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reproduced,
past participle, past
-
reproducing
present participle
-
to reproduce its kind, as an organism; propagate; bear offspring.
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to turn out in a given manner when copied.
This picture will reproduce well.
verb
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to make a copy, representation, or imitation of; duplicate
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(also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo a process of reproduction
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to produce or exhibit again
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to bring back into existence again; re-create
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to bring before the mind again (a scene, event, etc) through memory or imagination
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(intr) to come out (well, badly, etc), when copied
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to replace (damaged parts or organs) by a process of natural growth; regenerate
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to cause (a sound or television recording) to be heard or seen
Synonym Usage
See imitate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reproducernoun
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reproducibilitynoun
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reproducibleadjective
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self-reproducingadjective
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reproduciblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reproducesimple
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reproducessimple
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have reproducedperfect
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has reproducedperfect
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am reproducingprogressive
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are reproducingprogressive
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is reproducingprogressive
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have been reproducingperfect progressive
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has been reproducingperfect progressive
Past
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reproducedsimple
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had reproducedperfect
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was reproducingprogressive
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were reproducingprogressive
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had been reproducingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reproduce
Explanation
To reproduce is to make more, either by having babies or creating copies. Parents and copy machines both reproduce. To produce is "to make something," and re means “again,” so reproduce literally means to “produce again.” When animals and plants make more of their own kind, they reproduce. Plants reproduce asexually, and people reproduce through childbirth. You can also reproduce a book by printing more copies or a computer file by copying it. Reproducing always creates more of something.
Vocabulary lists containing reproduce
Inside Out & Back Again
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"CLEP Financial Accounting," Vocabulary from Chapter 16
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Articles on Overfishing
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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:
"The fish are no longer able to reproduce," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
If an independent team at NIST's campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, could reproduce the French measurement using essentially the same approach, it could help resolve the disagreement surrounding big G.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
It was the sort of flavor I could reproduce if sufficiently motivated.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
In his research, when he told the participants that AI can now authentically reproduce Scottish accents, their tendency to classify the synthetic voices as human was significantly reduced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Built into every genome, then, are the codes for proteins that will allow that genome to reproduce.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A second possibility is to redesign indoor lighting so that it better reproduces the wavelengths present outdoors.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The tendency to justify women’s chronic underpayment rather than address it reproduces inefficiencies that come at a high cost to America’s families, organizations and broader economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
The heath-star moss sends out spores far and wide and reproduces quickly, making it a successful invader.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
“Editing is a task that involves creativity and human artisanship. An editor is not just someone who mechanically reproduces a number of steps. They have a sense of storytelling in mind,” said Srinivasan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
But if it cannot, the error will affect the way the cell reproduces.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Accuracy describes how close a measurement is to the correct value, while precision reflects how consistently that measurement can be reproduced.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Salt crystals used to treat the garments were also reproduced on jackets and brooches.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Those wildcats have successfully reproduced and the team working on the project are aware of at least 20 wild-born litters to released females since 2024.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
In tests conducted by the report’s authors and reproduced by the WSJ Leadership Institute, Amazon’s Alexa said it couldn’t access data regarding domestically made products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Tex pointed at the special contoured one Mr. Caton had reproduced.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
The music group also said it notified the defendants on Aug. 17 of “the material musical similarities” but that the defendants “continued reproducing, distributing, licensing, publicly performing and commercially exploiting” Dean’s “I’ve Seen It.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The simulations begin with pristine gas containing no heavy elements, reproducing conditions that existed shortly after the Big Bang.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
The book can feel overstuffed, variously reproducing correspondence, memos, dreams, trial transcripts and even a snatch of sheet music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Actors in the production lip-sync the actual audio, reproducing every hesitation, interruption and verbal tic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
As time went on, they got better at reproducing.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
