spin-off

1 of 2

noun

1
: the distribution by a business to its stockholders of particular assets and especially of stock of another company
also : the new company created by such a distribution
2
: a collateral or derived product or effect : by-product
also : a number of such products
the spin-off from the space program
3
: something that is imitative or derivative of an earlier work, product, or establishment
especially : a television show starring a character popular in a secondary role of an earlier show

spin off

2 of 2

verb

spun off; spinning off; spins off

transitive verb

: to establish or produce as a spin-off
the company spun off its computer division
spin off a new TV series

intransitive verb

: to establish or become a spin-off

Examples of spin-off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The show was a spin-off to The Cosby Show, following Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional HBCU in Virginia. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Following Villeneuve’s Warner Bros. adaptations, the mysterious Bene Gesserit will also be the main focus of their own HBO Max spin-off series, Dune: The Sisterhood. Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 The return of the character to The Walking Dead franchise through his new spin-off show, The Ones Who Live, has already had fans buzzing on a high from seeing their beloved Andrew Lincoln return. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Soon after, the Gujral family created their own spin-off franchise. Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 The Valley—a Vanderpump Rules spin-off starring Taylor, Cartwright, and other former VPR castmates—will premiere on Bravo on March 19. Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2024 As a spin-off of the ever-popular Reese’s Eggs, the over-125-year-old chocolate brand is now launching Reese’s Peanut Butter Mini Eggs Unwrapped—pop-and-go, mini versions of the iconic chocolate-peanut butter eggs that come in an 8-ounce bag ready for snacking or baking. Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 29 Feb. 2024 No risk from spin-off for grocery giant The success of those stores won’t be Kroger’s problem, the FTC said. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024 Duhamel, the star of the film Buddy Games and the host of its reality competition show spin-off, is looking for someone to rent his former home in Encino, California, for a cool $15,000 per month, according to Realtor.com. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2024
Verb
Embracing its telecommunication roots, AT&T over the last three years has spun off DirecTV and WarnerMedia, with the firm setting its sights on building out higher-margin areas such as 5G and fiber. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Turbines began spinning off Rhode Island’s Block Island as a pilot project in 2016. Jennifer McDermott, Fortune Europe, 14 Mar. 2024 The details of the divestment would probably hinge on a key question regarding whether ByteDance would sell or spin off the entire global footprint of TikTok’s operations or just the portions of the app that operate in the United States. Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Whatever happened to the seed of an idea about spinning off and actually making the Young Larry show? Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2024 Instead of taking the full hit, Mahomes spun off the contact, whirling around and stumbling forward before Jadeveon Clowney wrapped him up. Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 2 Feb. 2024 That Reputation track lifts to No. 16, an impressive placement for a title that was never officially spun off as a single. Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 But with Samsung and Google spinning off their own events, LG and Sony in decline, and Huawei a shell of its former self, there was room for Xiaomi to shine in 2024. Julian Chokkattu Simon Hill, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024 The company grew out of former operations of Advanced Micro Devices, which spun off the business in 2009 to focus on designing rather than manufacturing chips. Don Clark, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spin-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1950, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of spin-off was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near spin-off

Cite this Entry

“Spin-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spin-off. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spin-off

noun
ˈspin-ˌȯf
1
: something that results from work done to produce a different product : by-product
household products that are spin-offs of space research
2
: something that imitates or comes from an earlier work or product
a spin-off of a hit TV show

Legal Definition

spin-off

noun
ˈspin-ˌȯf, -ˌäf
: a transfer of corporate assets to a subsidiary in return for a distribution to the shareholders of the corporation of all of the stock or controlling stock of the subsidiary without surrender of any stock by the shareholders of the corporation : a D reorganization involving a distribution of the stock of another company to the corporation's shareholders
also : a new company created by such a distribution compare split-off, split-up
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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