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Synonyms

reproduce

American  
[ree-pruh-doos, -dyoos] / ˌri prəˈdus, -ˈdjus /

verb (used with object)

reproduces, present (3rd person singular) reproduced, past participle, past reproducing present participle
  1. to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of.

    to reproduce a picture.

  2. to produce again or anew by natural process.

    to reproduce a severed branch.

  3. Biology. to produce one or more other individuals of (a given kind of organism) by some process of generation or propagation, sexual or asexual.

    Synonyms:
    beget, propagate, generate
  4. to cause or foster the reproduction of (organisms).

  5. to produce, form, make, or bring about again or anew in any manner.

    Synonyms:
    repeat
  6. to recall to the mind or have a mental image of (a past incident, scene, etc.), as by the aid of memory or imagination.

  7. to produce again, as a play produced at an earlier time.


verb (used without object)

reproduces, present (3rd person singular) reproduced, past participle, past reproducing present participle
  1. to reproduce its kind, as an organism; propagate; bear offspring.

  2. to turn out in a given manner when copied.

    This picture will reproduce well.

reproduce British  
/ ˌriːprəˈdjuːs /

verb

  1. to make a copy, representation, or imitation of; duplicate

  2. (also intr) biology to undergo or cause to undergo a process of reproduction

  3. to produce or exhibit again

  4. to bring back into existence again; re-create

  5. to bring before the mind again (a scene, event, etc) through memory or imagination

  6. (intr) to come out (well, badly, etc), when copied

  7. to replace (damaged parts or organs) by a process of natural growth; regenerate

  8. to cause (a sound or television recording) to be heard or seen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See imitate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of reproduce

First recorded in 1605–15; re- + produce

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing reproduce

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 effort comes as climate change creates more favourable conditions for mosquitoes to survive and reproduce, increasing concerns about the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

From BBC Jul. 27, 2026

These models allowed the team to reproduce the structures in greater detail and develop more accurate explanations for how they formed.

From Science Daily Jul. 25, 2026

Wetter and longer monsoons are giving them more time to reproduce in the tropics.

From BBC Jul. 23, 2026

So being able to reproduce results using identical equipment in different institutions gives scientists like Dr Josh Bailey robust evidence to rely on.

From BBC Jul. 20, 2026

These survivors then reproduce to make more of their kind, thereby driving evolutionary change within a species.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The team accomplished this by designing a control Hamiltonian, a carefully planned sequence of fields and pulses that reproduces the effects of quantum measurements.

From Science Daily Jul. 3, 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

The key question, then, is whether private credit reproduces the balance-sheet features that make banks fragile.

From MarketWatch Apr. 13, 2026

First, there’s antigenic drift, which happens in the genes of the virus over time as the virus reproduces.

From Salon Jan. 8, 2026

“Yes. Removing only the leaves you need, leaving the rest to continue growing. And the yeast reproduces on its own asexually using budding.”

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The patient-derived organoids reproduced several important biological characteristics of Alzheimer's disease at the molecular level.

From Science Daily Jul. 22, 2026

Monarch of the Glen, which hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland, is one of the most recognisable and reproduced paintings in British art.

From BBC Jul. 2, 2026

The scientists then reproduced the gut yeast in a fridge.

From Barron's Jun. 3, 2026

Thousands were precisely reproduced for the cleaner enclosures of the Maginot’s scientific mission.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 2, 2026

There is a painting by Asher Brown Durand called “Kindred Spirits,” which is often reproduced in books when the subject turns to the American landscape in the nineteenth century.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The company said in response to the 2024 lawsuit that it stands by its technology and that it is “uninterested in reproducing content in our training set.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2026

By reproducing cosmic chemistry in the laboratory, the study gives researchers a new way to investigate processes occurring deep within stellar environments.

From Science Daily Jul. 19, 2026

The idea is that when sterile flies are released into targeted areas, they wold mate with wild screwworm flies and prevent them from reproducing.

From Barron's Jun. 8, 2026

But in reproducing the fragmentary nature of Susanna Kaysen’s memoir, which became a movie starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, the musical never acquires dramatic momentum.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 5, 2026

Chagrin reproducing and proliferating, as if they would ever run short.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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