spawn

American  

[spawn] / spɔn /

noun

• spawn,
  plural
• spawns
  plural

1. Zoology. the mass of eggs deposited by fishes, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.

2. Mycology. the mycelium of mushrooms, especially of the species grown for the market.

3. Usually Disparaging. a swarming brood; numerous progeny.

   Diners at the restaurant were annoyed by the two inconsiderate parents and their unruly spawn.

4. any person or thing regarded as the offspring of some stock, idea, etc.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the spawning of a character or item in a video game: the spawn rate.

   a spawn point;

   the spawn rate.

verb (used without object)

• spawns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spawned,
  past participle,  past
• spawning
  present participle

1. to deposit eggs or sperm directly into the water, as fishes.

2. (of a character or item in a video game) to originate at a fixed point in an existing game environment.

   An enemy character just spawned right on top of me!

verb (used with object)

• spawns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spawned,
  past participle,  past
• spawning
  present participle

1. to produce (spawn).

2. to give birth to; give rise to.

   His sudden disappearance spawned many rumors.

   Synonyms:

   beget, yield, generate, engender

3. to produce in large number.

4. to plant with mycelium.

spawn British  

/ spɔːn /

noun

1. the mass of eggs deposited by fish, amphibians, or molluscs

2. derogatory offspring, product, or yield

3. botany the nontechnical name for mycelium

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verb

1. (of fish, amphibians, etc) to produce or deposit (eggs)

2. derogatory (of people) to produce (offspring)

3. (tr) to produce or engender

spawn Scientific  

/ spôn /

1. The eggs of water animals such as fish, amphibians, and mollusks.

2. Offspring produced in large numbers.

---

1. To lay eggs; produce spawn.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spawner
  noun
• unspawned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spawn
  plural
• spawns
  plural

Participles

• spawning
  present
• spawned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spawn
  simple
• spawns
  simple
• have spawned
  perfect
• has spawned
  perfect
• am spawning
  progressive
• are spawning
  progressive
• is spawning
  progressive
• have been spawning
  perfect progressive
• has been spawning
  perfect progressive

Past

• spawned
  simple
• had spawned
  perfect
• was spawning
  progressive
• were spawning
  progressive
• had been spawning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spawn
  simple
• will have spawned
  perfect
• will be spawning
  progressive
• will have been spawning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spawn

1350–1400; Middle English spawnen (v.), probably < Anglo-French espaundre ( Old French espandre ) to expand

Explanation

Technically, the mass of small eggs laid by animals like fish, frogs, mollusks is called spawn. But the word has been borrowed to mean offspring, or the act of making them in general. When someone is in league with the devil, a preacher might refer to them as “Satan’s spawn.” Your dad probably find something satanic in the kids next door when he refers to them as the neighbor’s spawn. Bill Gates’ programming project in college spawned Microsoft, a multi-billion dollar industry giant.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spawn spawns spawned spawning

Salmon also suffered, partly because drought had affected inland rivers, where Chinook and Coho migrate to spawn, eggs hatch, and salmon fry swim back downstream to the ocean.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Seidu equipped fishermen with GPS trackers to identify where guitarfish gather and spawn.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

In the meantime, the quest could spawn technologies with other applications.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Meanwhile, when he was their age, young Giles, nicknamed Ripper, terrorized London by summoning hell spawn for fun.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Adam Costello. It’s Shirley. This is my offspring Danielle. I gave all my spawn human names. I just think your names are so cute.”

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

The Severn Estuary is home to huge numbers of sprats and salmon, and the twaite shad, a protected migrating species which spawns in the tributaries of the River Severn.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026

The hysterical posturing is even more implausible when you realize existing stars will be AI’s biggest beneficiaries when it spawns lucrative new interactive opportunities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

Straight line winds result when rain and hail at high altitudes evaporate and cool the ambient air, which then plummets and, at the surface, spawns intense winds that rush outward.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2023

“It may be examined as well for its interaction with the institutions of the society which spawns it.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2023

Voldemort’s expression remained impassive as he said, “Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore.”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

A boom in artificial intelligence has spawned the building of large data centers, while a rising stock market has increased demand for financial advice.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

The case spawned in Nevada, of all places, as the local Gaming Control Board sent a cease-and-desist letter notifying Kalshi that it was violating Nevada statutes and gaming regulations.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

“We’ve seen that in how #MeToo played out. That spawned litigation, but it was also a big global cultural moment,” Iyer said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The mysteries surrounding Sanxingdui have spawned even more outlandish questions: Do the enormous protruding eyes and enigmatic smiles featured on the figures suggest the ancient people were extraterrestrials?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

The rise of food production in China spawned several great prehistoric movements of human populations, or of cultural traits, or of both.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Hyperscalers’ need for speed is spawning timesaving products and building techniques.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Martin and Lewis created a novus ordo seclorum, in its way innovating like America’s founders, spawning a new comedic order of the ages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

"But it carries major risks of spawning emotional over-reliance and distorted social cognition," he wrote.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Rugby success spawning mainstream breakthrough names has been patchy.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

Although spawning occurs at sea, the young come into the estuaries and bays when a few weeks old to undergo successive molts and changes of form.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• create
• generate