offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

1

a

: the product of the reproductive processes of a person, animal, or plant : young, progeny

The disease can be transmitted from parent to offspring.

b

: the immediate descendant of a person or animal : an individual born of a parent

gave birth to a single offspring

"… He was becoming irascible as well, impatient—with me especially, because I was his only offspring [=child]. …"

—Anthony Hopkins

2

a

: product, result

… scholarly manuscripts—the labored offsprings of PhDs …

—Donna Martin

… the substitution of the typewriter and its offspring for the author's own hand.

—Jacques Barzun

b

: offshoot sense 1a

… you can hear this Caribbean club music, a hard-edged and party-heavy offspring of reggae …

—Lorraine Ali

Synonyms

• fruit
• get
• issue
• posterity
• progeny
• seed
• spawn

Examples of offspring in a Sentence

The show is about two couples and the adventures of their rebellious offspring.

The colt is the offspring of two racing champions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite their tendency to reduce social interactions with others when sick, in vampire bats, sick mothers will continue to groom their offspring and vice versa, probably because mother-daughter relationships are extra important. —Sebastian Stockmaier, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2024

His painstaking efforts—which involved toting camera gear and traipsing through forests in snowshoes—were rewarded with this photograph of a resting lynx with its adult offspring standing behind it, sheltering from the wind. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024

Yet he is constantly haunted by his impossible-to-please father, academic F. D. Reeve, which turns Christopher into the kind of dad who is always competing – whether in skiing, hockey, soccer or horse riding – with his offspring. —Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2024

Zoo Atlanta's Giant Pandas Yang Yang and Lun Lun and their offspring, including twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun, have been a major draw for the Grant Park attraction for the past 25 years. —Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ofspring, from Old English, from of off + springan to spring

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

: the young of a person, animal, or plant

Medical Definition

offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

: the progeny of an animal or plant : young