reproduce
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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
Related Words
See imitate.
Other Word Forms
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.
The fish has proved stubbornly unwilling to reproduce in captivity without intervention, but Japanese researchers succeeded in breeding Japanese eels from eggs in a laboratory setting in 2010 at great expense.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Until America can reproduce fabs as well as the packaging, bonding, testing, integration and supplier ecosystems around them, Taiwan’s autonomy will remain indispensable to U.S. interests.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The cooperation between our human ancestors may have been more flexible, without rigid rules about who was allowed to reproduce.
From Slate • May 10, 2026
“It’s all about memory. It’s all about bringing back what happened before in order not to reproduce the same mistakes or to learn and to also understand why things happen. Nothing comes from nothing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
The Back Row sleeps until she points out that apple trees need bees to reproduce.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
