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  • spin-off
    spin-off
    noun
    a process of reorganizing a corporate structure whereby the capital stock of a division or subsidiary of a corporation or of a newly affiliated company is transferred to the stockholders of the parent corporation without an exchange of any part of the stock of the latter.
  • spin off
    spin off
    verb
    (tr, preposition) to turn (a part of a business enterprise) into a separate company
Synonyms

spin-off

American  
[spin-awf, -of] / ˈspɪnˌɔf, -ˌɒf /
Or spinoff

noun

  • spin-offs
    plural
  1. Commerce. a process of reorganizing a corporate structure whereby the capital stock of a division or subsidiary of a corporation or of a newly affiliated company is transferred to the stockholders of the parent corporation without an exchange of any part of the stock of the latter.

  2. any product that is an adaption, outgrowth, or development of another similar product.

    The paperback is a spin-off from the large hardcover encyclopedia.

    Synonyms:
    offshoot, issue, by-product
  3. a secondary or incidental product or effect derived from technological development in a somewhat unrelated area.

    Synonyms:
    offshoot, issue, by-product

spin off British  

verb

  1. (tr, preposition) to turn (a part of a business enterprise) into a separate company

"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

noun

  1. any product or development derived incidentally from the application of existing knowledge or enterprise

  2. a book, film, or television series derived from a similar successful book, film, or television series

"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
spin off Idioms  
  1. Derive or produce from something else, especially a small part from a larger whole. For example, The corporation decided to spin off the automobile parts division, or Her column was spun off from her book on this subject. The expression transfers the throwing off by centrifugal force, as in spinning, to other enterprises. [Mid-1900s]


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of spin-off

First recorded in 1945–50; noun use of verb phrase spin off

Compare meaning

How does spin-off compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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:

Ed Gamble, host of BBC Two spin-off show Uncloaked, added that he watched "hours of footage a day" as well.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Resonac’s petrochemical unit is set to list Tuesday in Tokyo, with a spin-off becoming effective Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

He rose to fame as a “looksmaxxer,” which is a spin-off of the larger incel community.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

The suit centered on profit participation rights for the original “Walking Dead” series and its first spin-off, “Fear the Walking Dead.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“This is it. It’s happening. You’re going to reach out, right? This is amazing. Hollywood will make a movie about you two. And a Netflix spin-off about your gay children.”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The important benchmark comes as Comcast prepares to spin off NBCUniversal entertainment and news media businesses into a separate company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The announcement of price cuts comes ahead of parent company Associated British Foods' plan to spin off the business onto the London stock market next year.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The deal which excludes ITV Studios, the group's production arm, comes after Comcast last week said it would spin off its Sky media and NBCUniversal divisions into a separate company.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

Just a week after Comcast announced a plan to spin off NBCUniversal, the Philadelphia media-and-broadband conglomerate said it’s buying a British broadcaster.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

She whips my arm, making me spin off the walkway, cracking us both up.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Even the smallest side characters were gifted their own spin-offs in the streaming service-boosted age of marketable intellectual property.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Since then, the original series and its more than a dozen spin-offs have generated nearly 1,000 episodes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Every one of Disney’s remakes and spin-offs of its animated hits has been a naked cash grab.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The part earned her an Annie Award for best voice acting in an animated feature production and she continued to voice the character in later spin-offs.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

By 1980, the Lisp Machine project had generated two commercial spin-offs.

From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams

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