Main Entry: re·pro·duc·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌrē-prə-ˈdək-shən\

Function: noun

Date: 1659

1 : the act or process of reproducing; specifically : the process by which plants and animals give rise to offspring and which fundamentally consists of the segregation of a portion of the parental body by a sexual or an asexual process and its subsequent growth and differentiation into a new individual
2 : something reproduced : copy
3 : young seedling trees in a forest

synonyms reproduction, duplicate, copy, facsimile, replica mean a thing made to closely resemble another. reproduction implies an exact or close imitation of an existing thing <reproductions from the museum's furniture collection>. duplicate implies a double or counterpart exactly corresponding to another thing <a duplicate of a house key>. copy applies especially to one of a number of things reproduced mechanically <printed 1000 copies of the lithograph>. facsimile suggests a close reproduction often of graphic matter that may differ in scale <a facsimile of a rare book>. replica implies the exact reproduction of a particular item in all details <a replica of the Mayflower> but not always in the same scale <miniature replicas of classic cars>.