spawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈspȯn 

ˈspän

spawned; spawning; spawns

intransitive verb

1

: to deposit or fertilize spawn

2

: to produce young especially in large numbers

transitive verb

1

a

: to produce or deposit (eggs)

—used of an aquatic animal

b

: to induce (fish) to spawn

c

: to plant with mushroom spawn

2

: bring forth, generate

the idea spawned controversy

spawner noun

spawn

2 of 2

noun

1

: the eggs of aquatic animals (such as fishes or oysters) that lay many small eggs

2

: product, offspring

also : offspring in great numbers

3

: the seed, germ, or source of something

4

: mycelium especially prepared (as in bricks) for propagating mushrooms

Synonyms

Verb

• beget
• breed
• bring
• bring about
• bring on
• catalyze
• cause
• create
• do
• draw on
• effect
• effectuate
• engender
• generate
• induce
• invoke
• make
• occasion
• produce
• prompt
• result (in)
• translate (into)
• work
• yield

Noun

• fruit
• get
• issue
• offspring
• posterity
• progeny
• seed

Examples of spawn in a Sentence

Verb

The health-food craze spawned a multimillion-dollar industry.

the incident that spawned a generation of student protests

a TV show that spawned a host of imitations

Noun

Pacific salmon return to Alaskan streams to deposit their spawn.

sometimes I think those little brats are the spawn of Satan himself

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Attendees were soon spotted at the event with their own white ear coverings in solidarity, spawning a wave of jokes on social media. —Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 4 Nov. 2024

Eels Congregate To Breed In The Depths Of The Bermuda Triangle The two most renowned eel species—the American and European eels—have now been seen migrating thousands of miles to spawn in the Sargasso Sea. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

Noun

There is excellent fishing at the mouth of both the Umpqua and Siuslaw rivers in the fall when the fish are moving in to spawn. —Orval C. Johnson, Outdoor Life, 31 Oct. 2024

Klamath Chairman William Ray said his tribe had fished the last salmon out of the river in the early 20th century after the first of the dams, Copco I, stopped fish from coming upstream to spawn. —Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 12 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French espandre to spread out, shed, scatter, spawn, from Latin expandere to expand

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

spawn

1 of 2 verb

ˈspȯn 

ˈspän

1

: to deposit or fertilize eggs

fish swimming upstream to spawn

2

: to produce young especially in large numbers

3

: generate, bring forth

spawner noun

spawn

2 of 2 noun

1

: the eggs of aquatic animals (as fishes or oysters) that lay many small eggs

2

: product sense 2, offspring

also : something produced in large quantities